HomeMy WebLinkAboutOld Soldiers Remember Rudder Sunday, April 17,1994
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. Ea0le photo,/ Dave McDermand
A color guard made up of members of A &M's Corps of Cadets posts the colors prior to the ceremony honoring the memory of James Earl Rudder .
old soldiers remember Rudder
IL. Friends come together
to remember Aggie legend , ,. v
By CHUCK SGUATRIGLIA t • .:
'
Eagle staff writer .
Staring at the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc � "'c
through the early morning light of June 1- i / .
6, 1944, Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder knew ' +
the importance of his mission. ! , " 1 ' i±
With him were 225 Army Rangers, the 1 u 3
elite band of fighting men he'd trained. 4 . •
"ogether they would storm the beaches of
,ormandy, scale the 10 -story cliffs of • . • Iv- sr 'r r
Pointe du Hoc and knock out the German v y� � t v',..4.-. ., �,
guns overlooing the beach. ' t° h i4r , r
Or die trying. r `� �!Y � 't om .h'
They were among the first to fight on r , c" a x , 0 4 � c-i
D•Day, the Allied offensive that turned , M,. `r k 4 .n«:.
the tide of World War II and became one r h �.� ' eat 4 Sj?
of the greatest military operations in his o ,rR
tory. a � rext ` y e
About 30 of the "rag -tag and unruly"
men Rudder, A &M class of 1932, trained
gathered with friends and family at his . .' , , " ,. s, r
gravesite in College Station Cemetery on
Saturday to commemorate the man who
led them into battle and into history. . 4 F'
"He was one of the finest military
leaders that I know of," said 80- year -old '
James "Ike" Envier, who was 30 when he mo t% ,? � Q
landed at Pointe du Hoc with Rudder. . `'
"He knew how to handle young men. We fi4 1ri
were a bunch of rag -tag, unruly men /''� • r, ,
when he got hold of us and he turned us ` ' I • d;
into one of the best fighting units in the ;�,
world." r
Rudder's skill lied in his ability to mo- t
tivate his men, even in the face of the ' ',4,
most dangerous mission, the old soldiers d hi ,, ' - . •
said. A kind man who loves troops, 'a
Rudder expected the best of his men, they
said. r
® Even as they approached Normandy in .
a flotilla of ships crossing the chilly, cho-
p py seas of the English Channel, Rudder
and his men knew they were making his- •
tory.
I told the boys, 'OK, this little game we The Aggie color guard participates in opening ceremonies held at the gravesite of James Earl Rudder Satur-
have here at Pointe du Hoc is one of the day. About 30 former trainees of Rudder's gathered for the tribute to their former leader.
most unusual operations you'll ever be
involved in; " Eikner said. "It was un- won more than a half dozen commenda- he said he's become an Aggie through his
heard of — attacking a beach and scaling lions for leading the a ssa ul t. friendship with Rudder and his wife,
cliffs as the enemy fired down on you." Rudder later served as state land com- Margaret.
Rudder was the first ashore at Pointe missioner and was A&M president fYom "When I signed up with Col. Rudder, I
du Hoc and may well have been the first 1959 until 1970. He died March 23,1970. didn't know it would be a lifetime job,"
Allied soldier to land at Normandy. He Although Eickner did not attend A&M, he said.