James Earl Rudder James Earl Rudder ( May 6 , 1910 – March 23 , 1970 ) was a United States Army major general , Texas Land Commissioner , and the sixteenth president of Texas A & M University . He also served as mayor of Brady , Texas , teacher and coach at the high school and college levels , state land commissioner and the third president of the Texas A & M University System . Early life . Rudder was born on May 6 , 1910 , in Eden in Concho County east of San Angelo . He was the son of Dee Forest Rudder and the former Annie Powell . He attended John Tarleton Agricultural College for two years before transferring to Texas A & M . He earned a degree in industrial education in 1932 . In 1933 , he began work as a football coach and teacher at Brady High School in Brady , in McCulloch County , Texas . June 12 , 1937 , he wed Margaret E . Williamson . The couple had five children : James Earl " Bud " Rudder , Jr . , Jane Rudder Roach ( d . 1984 ) , Robert Dee Rudder , Anne Rudder Erdman , and Linda Rudder Williams . In 1938 , Rudder became a football coach and teacher at Tarleton Agricultural College . Military career . After graduation from Texas A & M , Rudder had been commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry in the United States Army Reserve . 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 - foot ( 30 meter ) cliffs under enemy fire to reach and destroy German gun batteries . The battalion ' s casualty rate for this perilous mission was greater than 50 percent . Rudder himself was wounded twice during the course of the fighting . In spite of this , they dug in and fought off German counter - attacks for two days until relieved . He and his men helped to successfully establish a beachhead for the Allied forces . Seven months later , Rudder was assigned to command the 109th Infantry Regiment , which saw key service in the Battle of the Bulge . Rudder earned military honors including the Distinguished Service Cross , Legion of Merit , Silver Star , 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 . He was a full Colonel by the war ' s end and was promoted to Brigadier General of the United States Army Reserves in 1954 and Major General in 1957 . Political and academic career . Rudder served as mayor of his hometown of Brady , Texas for six years . In 1953 , he became vice president of Brady Aviation Company . On January 1 , 1955 , he assumed the office of Texas Land Commissioner after James Bascom Giles abandoned the position . At that time the Veterans Land Program was under scrutiny for mismanagement and corruption . 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 . Rudder won the 1956 state land commissioner election as the Democratic . He became vice president of Texas A & M University in 1958 . Rudder became president in 1959 and president of the entire A & M System from 1965 to his death in 1970 . In 1967 President Lyndon B . Johnson presented him with the Distinguished Service Medal , the highest peacetime service award . Since his death in 1970 , an annual service has been held in Normandy , France , in his honor . While president of Texas A & M , Rudder is credited for transforming the University from a small land - grant college to a renowned university . 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 ) , there is no doubt these changes freed Texas A & M to become one of the largest universities in the U . S . There are many reminders of Rudder on campus , including Rudder Tower , next to the Memorial Student Center . A special training unit within the Corps of Cadets known as " Rudder ' s Rangers " is named in his honor . Cadets within the Corps of Cadets at A & M are expected to be able to recite an excerpt from the inscription on Rudder tower , a " Campusology " that reads : Death . Rudder died on March 23 , 1970 after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage .