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In World War II’s Battle of Luzon, teenaged Raule Hurtado, his squadron, and their PBY aircraft were on a “Dumbo” mission- responsible for the search and rescue of downed aircraft.
“I gotta get out of this airplane or I’m gonna drown,” Hurtado thought to himself.
“It just so happens that somebody blew us out of the sky,” Hurtado, now 98, recalls. “We crash, (but) I don’t remember the crash or anything. When I woke up in the airplane, I was in the water up to my chest.”
After diving underwater and escaping the aircraft, he found his crew working tirelessly to keep the pilot, who did not know how to swim, afloat. Hurtado gave up his life preserver for the pilot, saving his life.
Hurtado trod water for 20 minutes before a destroyer rescued him. His bravery and courage earned him the most recognizable medal of his seven–the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Until recently, Hurtado was guarded about his service and spared the details to his children and wives. But he’s changed his tune:
“I’m the only guy left,” he said.
Today, Hurtado can easily be found sitting outside his home, or drinking coffee at the Broiler Express in downtown San Carlos, always sporting his ‘World War II Veteran’ cap. At 98 years old, he’s still ready to be a handyman, mechanic, or open ear for someone who needs it.
“He’s an angel on Earth,” as his friend and fellow veteran John Day puts it. “He gives more than he receives and he never asks for a ‘thank you.’”
Before Hurtado moved to San Carlos, he grew up in Santa Monica and frequented the beaches. From a young age, he regularly swam long distances in the surrounding areas- building stamina that would eventually save his life.
At 17, he decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Hurtado received the needed permission to enlist in the military as a minor from his father.
“I wanted to make my parents proud of me,” Hurtado said. “Whenever anybody went into the service, they gave [their families] a flag to hang on your door saying, ‘My son is in the service.’”
After six weeks of training in the snowy winter of Farragut, Idaho; Hurtado impressed during a commando training session and was immediately transported to Norman, Oklahoma. He began learning about a two-seat fighter aircraft.
“‘The first cockpit is for the gunner and the second cockpit is for the pilot.’” Hurtado was told. “I thought, ‘Holy mackerel! They’re gonna make me a pilot,’ but that wasn’t true.”
He became a gunner and eventually moved to San Diego to become part of the “Black Cat” squadron.
“That was the beginning of the real deal,” Hurtado said. “Every third night we flew early… looking for Japanese ships.”
His 37th mission was during the Battle of Luzon. After his heroic act, he was taken to the second officer and offered a promotion.
“He says ‘you’re not going to be flying with us anymore… you’re going to be flying with the captain.’”
Hurtado next spent time in Hawaii and San Diego before landing in San Pedro. An officer approached him and told Hurtado—who was 19 at the time—that he had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and could use it to exit the navy.
“Nobody ever told me what I was going to face once I became a civilian,” Hurtado said. He moved up and down California, unable to hold down full-time work.
“I would challenge anybody that tried to tell me what to do,” he said.
Hurtado’s mechanical abilities eventually earned him jobs at General Motors and later Pan American World Airways. He met his first wife, Carol, while she was driving a forklift at an auto shop. They would have three children together.
“[Unbeknownst] to me, my wife had a deadly disease called Lou Gehrig’s (ALS) and my kids got it,” Hurtado said. “They all died on me.”
“He was a very brave man,” Day said of Hurtado grieving the loss of his own children. “He didn’t whine about it. He accepted it in his own way… For what he’s gone through since being a teenager to his current age, it’s amazing that he’s in one piece mentally.”
His second wife Margaret, who moved them to San Carlos, also eventually passed. However, Hurtado remained a pillar for his neighbors and extended family to lean on- regularly celebrating birthdays together, helping with home projects, fixing cars, and even skydiving when Hurtado was 92.
“He’s very generous with his time,” longtime neighbor Nancy Batten said. “He loves to have people come and sit with him. Seniors do need to have that interaction with people.”
Those around Hurtado, especially those who hear his bravery at the Battle of Luzon, refer to him as a ‘hero.’ However, he classifies his 98 years in a more humble fashion:
“I’ve lived a good life,” Hurtado said.
