Years of service 1941 - 1963 | Rank Second Lieutenant Name Donald Rudolph | |
Allegiance United States of America | ||
Apostle Donald Rudolph, Jr. 7.11.16, I Can't Do a Thing Without It
Donald Eugene Rudolph Sr. (February 21, 1921 – May 25, 2006) was an American soldier who received his country's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, in World War II.
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Biography
He was awarded the medal while serving as a technical sergeant and acting as leader of his platoon on Luzon island in the northern Philippines; his actions took place on February 5, 1945.
While giving first aid on the battlefield he noticed that his unit was pinned down by gun fire from a ditch. Crawling to the ditch, using his rifle and grenades to protect himself, he then killed three enemy soldiers concealed there. He then continued to work his way across open ground to a line of pillboxes that were also firing and immobilising his company.
He threw a grenade into the slit in the first of the pillboxes, and charged it and threw another grenade into the structure, killing the enemy machinegunners and so silencing their fire. After ordering several riflemen to cover his advance he proceeded to attack and neutralise 7 further pillboxes in quick succession.
Later, when a tank attacked his platoon he advanced under covering fire, opened its hatch and dropped a white phosphorus grenade inside, killing the crew and negating its threat. His medal citation concludes that through "his outstanding heroism, superb courage, and leadership, and complete disregard for his own safety, [...] Rudolph cleared a path for an advance which culminated in one of the most decisive victories of the Philippine campaign.".
He was promoted to Second Lieutenant after the battle, and was presented with the medal on August 23, 1945 by President Harry S. Truman. He continued his army career in the reserves until 1963, then worked in the Veterans Administration until his retirement in 1976.
Rudolph died from complications of Alzheimer's disease on May 25, 2006 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. He is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery Minneapolis, Minnesota.
US Hwy 7 north from Highway 169 to Bigfork, MN is known as the Donald Rudolph Medal-of-honor Scenic Byway. A commemorative site is available several miles up the highway.