PHILIP W. HUGHES HONORED WITH 2018 RODNEY WILLIAMS, JR. MEMORIAL AWARD

Lexington, Kentucky; March 3, 2018: Presented annually at the Officer Selection Officer (OSO) Colonel William “Rich” Higgins Memorial Mess Night/Dining-In to an individual selected by the Marine Corps Coordinating Council of Kentucky (MCCCK) Board of Directors, who has demonstrated exemplary community leadership and commitment, with a long history of dedicated service to Marine Corps related activities within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Following a recitation of the below citation, a personalized engraved Marine Corps plaque was presented to Philip W. Hughes, Crestwood, Kentucky, by Col David J. Clement, USMCR (Ret), on behalf of the MCCCK.

Following Following his honorable service to country and Corps from 1969 to 1975, as a sergeant in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, he embarked on an extraordinary career with the United Parcel Service, retiring as vice president of international customs operations for its worldwide airline component, based in Louisville, Kentucky. Unable to retire to a life of fly fishing and recreational travel, he fully embraced his Marine Corps roots and sought opportunities to serve his fellow veterans in a meaningful and an enjoyable capacity.

As a charter member of the Marine Corps Coordinating Council of Kentucky (MCCCK), his enthusiastic approach to helping his fellow Marines was readily recognized in 2009, as he was elected by his fellow Marine Corps veterans to the first of four consecutive three year terms as a member of the MCCCK Board of Directors, on which he continues to serve. Always seeking opportunities to assist others, whether it be through financial or logistical support, as well as physical labor, he sought out and embraced the Marine Corps Reserve “Toys for Tots” program, volunteering many hours collecting, transporting, sorting, and distributing toys to underprivileged and needy children in a multi-county region surrounding Louisville, Kentucky. When others have balked at labor intensive distasteful chores, his questions have always been “What can I do to help?” and “Where do you need me?”

Not satisfied with this truly important charitable endeavor of a seasonal nature, he explored other opportunities to serve fellow Marines and their families at a time of their passing. Affiliating himself with the Marine Corps League, he voluntarily returned to the rudiments of his drill field experience, by joining its burial honors detail program. It is through this activity that he is able to help families and friends cope with their grief over the loss of a loved one, as they witness the rendering of military honors either at a funeral home visitation or graveside rifle/flag presentation ceremony, each conducted with military decorum on behalf of a grateful nation.

His voluntary work as a Marine Corps veteran validates the training that all Marines undergo following their enlistment, during which all are exposed to the mantra that “Marines take care of their own.”