While in France with the Army of Occupation, Captain Hughes had the opportunity to visit an Aviation Field. He has identified Lewis de Mayer who is in the biplane preparing to go for a flight. Another person Hughes identified is a soldier named Schmidt (in rubber boots) standing by Captain James Hughes. James C. Hughes, as part of the 35th Division, left Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he boarded the troop ship "Ceramic" on May 18, 1918. Hughes arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 1, 1918 and then landed at Le Havre, France, on June 9, 1918. Hughes fought in the battles of St. Michael and the Meuse-Argonne. He was at Verdun on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. He took no photos of the actual fighting. He did take many photographs after the war as part of the Army of Occupation until he left France on July 18, 1919. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available at the link below to Kansapedia.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
Aviation Field, Le Valdabon; Lewis just going up. Schmidt in rubber boots, France