During World War II, John Purdy became a U.S. Army Air Forces ACE, credited with shooting down 7 enemy aircraft in aerial combat. He was shot down by ground fire on January 9, 1945, the day of the allied landing on Luzon in the Philippines, but was able to make a crash-landing (his fifth crash landing of the war) in the Cavite Province. He was picked up by guerrillas who tended to his wounds and took excellent care of him for 16 days until his rescue by an air sea rescue PBY.