[2] After graduating from high school, Rudder clerked at the local drug store, where the football coach for John Tarleton Agricultural College found him.

[5] After attending John Tarleton Agricultural College and then graduating from Texas A&M in 1932 with a degree in industrial education,[6] Rudder had been commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry in the United States Organized Reserve Corps.

After being called into active duty in 1941, Rudder took part in the D-Day landings as commanding officer of the United States Army's 2nd Ranger Battalion.

His U.S. Army Rangers stormed the beach at Pointe du Hoc, scaling 100-ft (30-m) cliffs under enemy fire to reach and destroy a German gun battery.

[1] By the time of the invasion, Pointe du Hoc's artillery pieces had been moved to another nearby site, replaced by telephone poles.

Rudder earned military honors, including the Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, French Legion of Honor with Croix de Guerre and Palm, and Order of Leopold (Belgium) with Croix de Guerre and Palm.

Rudder undertook the task of reforming policies, expediting land applications, and closely supervising proper accounting procedures.

He also oversaw the proper leasing of state lands by employing more field inspectors for oil and gas sites and adding a seismic exploration staff.

In addition, he improved working conditions for his staff and instigated a program to preserve the many deteriorating General Land Office documents.

Specifically, he made membership in the Corps of Cadets optional, allowed women to attend, and led efforts to integrate the campus.

While the changes were hugely unpopular to the former students (it has been said only a president with Rudder's heroic military record could pull off such drastic changes), these changes freed Texas A&M to become the largest university in the United States by enrollment.