At the age of 84, Orville Hurley remembers every detail of a fierce battle fought 64 years ago; the Company Commander lost at the beginning of the battle, the young father killed just after receiving news of his new son, the heroism of so many, and the devastation of war. Hurley's first action in the Phillipiones in 1944 was the relatively easy capture of an airstrip and then guarding a bridge. But pushing the Japanese off the island of Mindenow proved to be daunting.
For 46 days American GI's fought the deeply entrenched Japanese. Only 35 of 169 Americans survived, before winning the battle Born on Friday the 13th, Orville Hurley decided that 13, in his case at least was a very lucky number.
Joan Hallmark / jhallmark@kltv.com
