James Earl Rudder

James Earl Rudder was a United States Army major general. As a lieutenant colonel, he commanded the Pointe du Hoc battle during the Invasion of Normandy. He also commanded the 2nd Ranger Battalion at the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, and led a series of delaying actions and ambushes during the Battle of the Bulge. General Rudder also at various times served as Texas Land Commissioner, the 16th president of Texas A&M University, third president of the Texas A&M University System, mayor of Brady, Texas, and a high school and college teacher and coach. Rudder went by his middle name.