James Earl Rudder, born in Eden, Texas, to Dee Forest and Annie Powell Rudder, graduated from the A&M College of Texas in 1932 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry. He was a teacher, coach, area rancher, businessman, and mayor of Brady, Texas. During the D-Day invasion of Normandy in June 1944, he organized and personally led the 2nd Ranger Battalion and elements of the 5th Ranger Battalion in an assault on the 100-foot cliffs of Pointe du Hoe, where he was wounded twice by enemy fire that cut down half his command. General Omar Bradley said, “No soldier in my command has ever been wished a more difficult task than that which befell the 34-year-old Rudder …” Rudder was later named commander of the 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, which played a major role in repulsing Germany’s last great counter-offensive, the Battle of the Bulge. He retired in 1967 as a major general after 35 years of active and reserve service and received numerous military decorations. Appointed commissioner of the General Land Office of Texas in 1955, he restored confidence in Veteran’s Land Affairs and significantly increased the financial foundation of Texas’ educational system. He became vice president of Texas A&M in 1958, was selected as its 14th president in 1959, and additionally became president of the Texas A&M University System in 1965. His decade of leadership earned him the title “The Builder of A&M.” In 1937 he married Margaret E. Williamson of Menard, Texas, and they had five children: James Earl, Jr., Anne, Linda, Jane, and Robert.