Operation Desert Storm recipient of the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, and Purple Heart. He joined the Army in 1972 and was initially assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. While there he completed the Army’s Ranger course, following in the footsteps of his father, who had been a Ranger in World War II. Later he volunteered for 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta and participated in Operation Eagle Claw / Desert One, the attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran in 1980. He also served in Operations Urgent Fury (Grenada, 1983), Just Cause (Panama, 1989), and Desert Storm (Kuwait/Iraq, 1991). From his Legion of Merit citation: “Serving as a Troop Sergeant Major, Joint Special Operations Task Force, while participating in direct combat actions against a hostile force during operation Desert Storm, in Southwest Asia, Sergeant Major Hurley’s team successfully conducted high value target interdiction and mobile reconnaissance behind enemy lines in an area void of vegetation with little or no close air support. On the night of 21 February 1991, Sergeant Major Hurley received injuries that required immediate extraction from the field. Following extraction, the UH-60 Blackhawk medivac helicopter crashed in a sand storm killing all aboard.” In addition to his military awards, he was also posthumously awarded a BS degree from Methodist College in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where his medals, dogtags and Green Beret are on display in the lobby of the Horner Administration Building.
Operation Desert Storm recipient of the Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, and Purple Heart. He joined the Army in 1972 and was initially assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. While there he completed the Army’s Ranger course, following in the footsteps of his father, who had been a Ranger in World War II. Later he volunteered for 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta and participated in Operation Eagle Claw / Desert One, the attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran in 1980. He also served in Operations Urgent Fury (Grenada, 1983), Just Cause (Panama, 1989), and Desert Storm (Kuwait/Iraq, 1991). From his Legion of Merit citation: “Serving as a Troop Sergeant Major, Joint Special Operations Task Force, while participating in direct combat actions against a hostile force during operation Desert Storm, in Southwest Asia, Sergeant Major Hurley’s team successfully conducted high value target interdiction and mobile reconnaissance behind enemy lines in an area void of vegetation with little or no close air support. On the night of 21 February 1991, Sergeant Major Hurley received injuries that required immediate extraction from the field. Following extraction, the UH-60 Blackhawk medivac helicopter crashed in a sand storm killing all aboard.” In addition to his military awards, he was also posthumously awarded a BS degree from Methodist College in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where his medals, dogtags and Green Beret are on display in the lobby of the Horner Administration Building.
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