HURD AWARDED AN AIR MEDAL
Former Webster City Youth One of 43 to Receive Honor.
First Lieutenant Walter L. Hurd, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Hurd of Stanhope, and winner of the army air medal, is a former Webster City youth who has seen plenty of action over Australia and New Guinea, as a pilot of huge army transport planes. Lieutenant Hurd has also been cited for the distinguished service cross with oak leaf cluster.
43 Awards
SOMEWHERE IN AUSTRALIA (Delayed) –(AP) – Forty-three officers and enlisted men of the fifth air force received the air medal May 23 for participation in 25 operational flights each in transport planes in the southwest Pacific area.
The planes, flying over forbidding jungle and mountain terrain, often in stormy weather and usually under the constant threat of enemy attack, delivered troops and supplies to forward bases and brought wounded men back to hospitals.
Those decorated for meritorious achievement included:
Captains Philip M. Eckberg, Boone, Iowa, and George E. Stover, Fremont, Neb.
First Lieutenants Walter L. Hurd, jr., Fort Dodge, Iowa; and Don G. Gaylor, Davenport, Iowa.
Technical Sergeant Delmer C. Bramer, Rockville, Neb., and Sergeants Ivan K. Barton, Aurora, Neb., and Clay D. Clayton, Watertown, S.D.
Source: Daily Freeman Journal, June 5, 1943
Walter Leroy Hurd, Jr. was born July 8, 1919 to Walter L. and Mary D. Gibbon Hurd. He died Apr. 22, 1995 and is buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, TX.
Brigadier General Hurd served with the U.S. Air Force in World War II and Korea. In World War II he served as a transport and troop carrier pilot in the South Pacific. Gen. Hurd was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters and the Air Medal for his military service.
His Obituary: Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA - June 6, 1995
Walter Hurd Jr., 75, Los Altos, Calif., died April 22, 1995 in Austin, Texas. He was buried with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston Military Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas on April 25.
Walter L. Hurd spent his early years in Williams and Webster City, graduated from Stanhope High School and later from Morningside College in Sioux City. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1941. During World War II, he served as a transport and troop carrier pilot in the South Pacific and Europe where he won the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. He was also active in the Air Force Reserves. He retired in 1979 with the rank of Brigadier General. His first post-war years were spent flying for and then managing Philippine Airlines. After relocating in California, he began a 31 year career in the field of Quality Assurance with Lockheed Missiles and Space Corporation and in private consulting. He was the past National President of the American Society for Quality Assurance in the Silicon Valley, and received international recognition in this field
He is survived by his wife, Ann Cornell Hurd, Austin, Texas; his children, David Hurd, Austin; Caroline Hurd Ricketts, Milpitas, Calif.; Drew Hurd, San Jose, Calif.; Lt. Col. Bruce Hurd, March AFB, Calif.; Captain Kevin Hurd, Harrison Township, Mich.; brother Raoul Hurd, Newhall, Calif.
Source: ancestry.com
