Chester Rudel was born on September 29, 1918 and was from Wells County, North Dakota. He served as the Co-Pilot on B-24 “Tenmenbak” (42-51324) of the 764th Bomber Squadron, 461th Bomber Group, 15th Air Force which was based out of Torretta Airbase in Italy.
On December 17, 1944, this plane was a mission to bomb the oil refineries in Odental, Germany. After the bombing run, “Tenmenback” had an engine problem and dropped out of formation and was shot down by enemy fighters. The plane crashed killing one crewmember. Eight crewmembers were taken prisoner and one was able to evade capture with the help of partisans. A memorial in Trenčianske Teplice ,Slovakia remembers the plane the crewmember who died with the plane. Reference Missing Aircraft Report {MACR} 10683
Rudel broke his back in the crash and spent the rest of the war as a POW in the hospital; he was paralyzed for the rest of his life.
FROM FIND A GRAVE:
World War II ended for Chester H. Rudel on July 14,1986, at the Long Beach Veterans Hospital, Long Beach, California. Chet, as he was known by everyone, was born in Fessenden, North Dakota, September 29, 1918. Raised on a wheat ranch in the era of horses and hard manual labor, he was determined to leave that life style. In 1941, he and his bride, Alma, moved to San Diego, California, where he worked for Consolidated Aircraft Corporation, until he was accepted by the Air Force in September 1942. Trained as a B-24 pilot, he went to Europe with his group in July 1944, flying out of northern Italy. On December 14, 1944, subbing as a copilot while his own plane was being repaired, he was shot down over Czechoslovakia. During his night-parachute landing in a forested area, his back was broken and he became a paraplegic. He was hospitalized in Czechoslovakia until released by British forces in May 1945. Eventually reunited with Alma and his young son, Eddie, Chet returned to Los Angeles and attended the University of California at Los Angeles, graduating in 1951 with degrees in micropaleontology and geology. One of his professors mentioned to oil company recruiters interviewing graduates, "Do yourselves a favor and pick Chet, he is one of the good ones!" Chet was picked and, in the following years, did many a favor for The Standard Oil Company of California (now Chevron Oil). His first assignment was in Tkft, California. He later moved to Bakersfield when the field offices were relocated there. Chet's active contributions to many projects involving Tertiary stratigraphic and paleontologic problems continued. Not only was his knowledge and skill of great value, but his easy manner of sharing this background with the many newly hired workers over the years was of great value to the company. Chet always appeared to have the extra time to review a well or "run" a set of surface samples for a needy colleague. His memory of individual slides he had seen perhaps only once was famous. Another of Chet's contributions to the office staff was his unfailing cheerfulness and his ability to give counsel and a listening ear to fellow workers. Despite his fragile health, he was a rocklike source of encouragement to his associates, particularly the younger ones. Chet and Alma's home was always open for anyone who needed to share a problem or for the gang to celebrate a joy or triumph. This desire to share his time and talents led him to be a charter advisor of an early junior high achievement group in Bakersfield in 1963. The final consolidation of all Pacific coast division offices in San Francisco in 1972 forced Chet's early retirement. His health was slowly deteriorating, the years restricted to the wheel chair had taken their toll. Despite the constant, loving care of Alma, Chet was forced to spend more and more time in Veterans Administration facilities in southern California. His stays at home became shorter and shorter, until the last year he was rarely in Bakersfield. It was particularly disheartening for him to be confined in Long Beach for Christmas 1985. Throughout all this time, however, he was his usual cheerful, positive self, still looking forward to when he could go home, hoping the latest treatment would let him get back in his chair and resume his normal routine. By his request there was no final memorial service. He slipped away from us quietly with little notice. His friends were asked to remember him by a gift to the California Paralyzed Veterans Research Fund, V.A. Medical Center, 5901 E. 7th Street, Long Beach, California 90822. He is survived by his wife, Alma; a son, Edward; two grandchildren; four brothers; and a sister. All of us privileged to be associated with Chet remember a real man, one happy to have contributed so much to the service of his country. While not committed to any formal religious group, Chet certainly was attuned to the Lord. This quotation from Saint Paul aptly fits the life and spirit of Chester Rudel: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith!"