William George Rude
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Coast Guard
William George Rude of Duluth, Minnesota entered the Coast Guard, Merchant Marine Service, on February 1, 1944. Home at entry: Duluth, Minnesota.
He served as an Able Seaman and served aboard the vessels John S. Mosby, Michael Pupin, and he also served as a steel engineer in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean.
He traveled to various ports including Naples, Italy; Tulons, France; Algiers, North Africa; and Antwerp, Belgium.
He observed several German prison camps armed with North African Black Natives right after D-Day.
He traveled in a ship convoy with food, trucks, supplies and loaded cinders for ballast. He survived air attacks near Antwerp and a near collision with another darkened ship in convoy.
Mr. Rude was honorably discharged on April 25, 1945.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The St. Louis County World War II Project. 273.
