Colonel William S. Hurley

Colonel William S. Hurley

Colonel William (Bill) S. Hurley was born in Erie, PA on September 9, 1921. Bill graduated from Strong Vincent High School in 1940 and enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh where he eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, majoring in Aeronautical Engineering. After the Air Force, Bill owned and operated his own engineering consultant office in Cleveland, OH for many years. After the Japanese attached Pearl Harbor, Bill left college to enlist in the Army Air Corps on May 8, 1942. As a member of the 361st Squadron, Bill flew 86 combat missions. He flew the P47 and P51; both were named the Eerie Eagle.

 

During World War II, bill was promoted to Captain and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the 8 Oak Leaf Cluster Air Medal, EAME Theatre Medal with 5 Battle Stars, WWII Victory Medal, and the American Campaign Medal. Bill flew in the following battles: European Air Offensive, Invasion of Normandy, Northern France, and the Ardennes Campaign and the Rhineland. Bill was part of the 356th fighter group that was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for the Ardennes Campaign.

 

After WWII, Bill went on to fly Air Exhibitions in the Flying P51s. He was in the first Jet Fighting School in the United States (Williams Air Force Base and March Field, CA) and the first class to fly the P80 Shooting Star. Bill flew, as part of this Jet Fighting Squad, the first mass jet flight in history from March Field, CA to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. He was promoted to Major and subsequently left the Air Force to finish college at the University of Pittsburgh. As a reserve officer, Bill continued to fly and was subsequently retired from the United States Air Force (USAF) as a Colonel in 1986.

 

The Erie Daily Times published several articles about Colonel Hurley’s successes in the war. As noted in one article:

 

“On July 17, 1944, W.S Hurley faced 4 to 1 odds. As stated in the article, as the Germans were attacking from behind, Hurley turned sharply and met the Jerries straight on. The exchanged blast for flast until Hurley’s bullets smashed into the German’s wings and fuselage. As the German plane fell, the other German planes turned and fled. This exchange occurred on Hurley’s 19th trip across the English Channel.”

 

Bill’s personal life was complete when he met and married his love, Mary Pat McHugh a graduate of Cincinnati College. They went on to have 5 children: Susan, William, James, Thomas, and Sally. Bill and Pat retired to Virginia Beach where Bill continued to fly. His last pilot’s license renewal being at the age of 90! He was looking for a plane to purchase up until his death in January 2015 at the age of 93. Bill and his wife are buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honor and two flyovers- one in a P51 with Eerie Eagle painted on the side and the other the traditional Jet flyover.