[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 83 (Friday, May 30, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E890-E891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TEXAN COL. RUDDER'S BOYS OF PONTE-DU-HOC

                                  _____
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 30, 2014

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it was raining as the English Channel 
churned and tossed the Americans in the landing craft. The sun was 
coming up over the horizon, but no one could see it through the gray 
clouds. Thousands of teenage liberators stared into the distance to see 
the high cliffs of Normandy, France. It was D-Day, June 6, 1944--70 
years ago.
  Expecting to land on Omaha Beach at 6:30 am ahead of other Allied 
Forces, Texan Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder led the United States Army 
Rangers' 2nd Ranger Battalion into what seemed like an impossible feat.
  As the treacherous weather conjured crashing waves five to six feet 
tall, a shifting wind tossed the Rangers off course. The mist, clouds 
and smoke obscured the navigation, making it hard to locate Pointe-du-
Hoc from a mile out at sea. Their landing was delayed by forty minutes. 
Already, the mission seemed doomed. This navigational error meant two 
things: They would have to sail parallel to the coast facing intense 
enemy fire. It gave the enemy time to recover and prepare for the next 
assault.
  For almost half an hour, the Rangers rode along the coast as bullets 
were flying all around them. Some Rangers were hit by enemy fire. But 
bleeding or not, still they pushed forward.
  They battled the wind as the pelting rain blurred their vision and 
soaked their climbing equipment. They were exhausted and tense. The 
landing crafts that brought the GIs to shore were beginning to take on 
water, presenting yet another obstacle for Rudder's Rangers. Water 
began to leak in through the front ramp of the landing crafts, so the 
Rangers ripped up the floorboards and used their helmets to bail out 
the alarming amount of water rushing in all while the Nazis fired down 
at them atop the cliffs.
  One of the landing crafts sunk from the weather and enemy fire. The 
brutal conditions of the sea caused others in the landing crafts to 
become violently seasick. Finally, the Rangers reached the eastern side 
of the Pointe, their new designated landing spot. It was now 7:10 am 
The battle had just begun, and the odds were stacking up against 
Rudder's success.
  The Rangers were miserable, cold, wet and seasick; some bleeding from 
injury but none wavered. Their mission: to conquer the cliffs at 
Pointe-du-Hoc and find the big German guns. The guns could reap havoc 
on later landings.
  No longer was the weather their only enemy. As the first shoe print 
was made in the wet sand of Normandy, the Rangers came under brutal 
fire from atop the cliffs as the enemy chunked grenades down at them. 
The men had to resist the urge to take out the machine guns because the 
primary mission was to climb. Fifteen men were already lost in the 
crossing of the beach. Divided into three units, Lt. Col. Rudder 
prepared to lead the Provisional Rangers, task force A of 250 men up 
the cliffs. They moved quickly with precision and expertise. They 
shifted through the chaos that ensued around them all while operating 
soaking wet equipment. (The ropes attached to the grappling hooks were 
heavy with water and thus could not reach the top of the cliffs when 
launched from a mortar.)
  The Rangers used rope ladders, a few dry grappling hooks and steel 
ladders to scale the cliffs. Their machine guns were clogged with mud. 
Amidst enemy fire and malfunctioning equipment, the Rangers were flung 
back and forth climbing the wet ropes.
  While some Rangers provided cover on the beach, amazingly, the first 
ones to the top, conquered the cliff in 10 minutes. They in turn 
provided covering fire for the ones still on the beach.
  As soon as the Rangers pulled themselves over the cliff, snipers 
immediately fired. Fortunately, the heaving bombing the Americans had 
done to the island in the days beforehand had created large craters in 
earth. This allowed the Rangers to hide themselves from the enemy fire.
  Within half an hour, the remaining task forces had made it up the 
tall cliffs. Rudder, bleeding from two gunshot wounds, never let his 
focus waver or his determination grow weary. He discovered quickly that 
the Germans had left wooden decoys in the gun casements. Exhausted, 
wounded and bewildered, Rudder kept pushing the Rangers inland. They 
had to find the big guns. Around 8:00 am small patrols were sent south 
to locate the missing guns. By 9:00 am, their second goal completed. 
Now, they had to take them out.
  The Rangers had located the missing guns 600 yards south of the 
Pointe. The Nazis had hidden the guns back from the beach to protect 
them from Allied air strikes and naval bombardment.
  Rudders' Rangers took out the emplacements using thermite grenades 
and eliminated the enemy protecting them.
  The mission though completed in spite of the horrific obstacles was 
not without cost. Rudder's Rangers had over 50 percent casualties. Some 
Rangers gave their lives that summer morning conquering the cliffs.
  As American blood was shed on the French beaches and cliffs, General 
Rudder had secured the beachhead for later Allied Forces coming ashore. 
This paved the way to eventual victory.

[[Page E891]]

  In the months leading up to the Normandy Invasion, Rudder's elite 
group of Army Rangers underwent rigorous training in preparation for 
the part that they would play for the invasion named Overlord at 
Normandy.
  Colonel Rudder put his 2nd Ranger Battalion through hell in order to 
prepare them for their mission at Pointe du Hoc. He made them march in 
full gear for over 20 miles. He had them train in hand to hand combat, 
climb rope ladders without safety harnesses and endure difficult 
amphibious training.
  The success that the Rangers had on D-Day was a direct result of 
Rudder's intense personal involvement with their training. The amount 
of effort and dedication he put forth into the training is why the 
troops were able to manage the chaos and complete their mission. Rudder 
made sure that every man was prepared to do the impossible.
  James Earl Rudder was born in the small Texas town of Eden, about 45 
miles southeast of San Angelo, in 1910. After graduating from high 
school, he played football for two years at Tarleton State. He then 
transferred to Texas A&M in 1930. He graduated in 1932 with a degree in 
education. After graduation he joined the US Army Reserves as a second 
lieutenant.
  In 1937, he married Margaret Williamson (who graduated from the 
University of Texas), and together they had five children. In 1941, he 
was doing what he loved, coaching football, when duty called.
  These brave men who cracked the Nazi grip on Europe began with the 
liberation of France 70 years ago. From there, the Rangers went on to 
fight in the Battle of the Bulge and U.S. forces on to Germany. Nothing 
like it had ever been done before in history. Over 150,000 Allied 
soldiers hit the beaches during the assault landings on the 6th of 
June. By the 4th of July, over 1 million joined in the invasion force 
through Normandy. It was a miraculous feat for 1944.
  Colonel Rudder received many military honors including the second 
highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross. He was a full Colonel 
by the end of the war and was promoted to Brigadier General of the U.S. 
Army Reserves in 1954 and Major General in 1957.
  After the war, Rudder returned to Texas. He remained a highly 
successful and distinguished Texan until his death.
  He served as Mayor of Brady for 6 years, visited the White House 
frequently--advising Lyndon Baines Johnson on many military issues and 
was hired to clean up the corruption going on in the General Land 
Office.
  Col. Rudder became president of Texas A&M University in 1959 and 
president of the entire A&M system in 1965, holding both positions 
until his death in 1970.
  The boys of D-Day came; they liberated; and some went home. Over 
9,000 other GIs are buried at the top of the cliffs of Normandy France. 
As we reflect on those Rangers on D-Day, 70 years ago, and the Texan 
who led them into battle, Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder, we once again 
marvel at the lives of those we call the Greatest Generation of 
Americans. And that's just the way it is.

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