Page 84 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine Fall 2019- Online Magazine

Billy Rudd A Case of Mistaken

Identity

by Larry A. Williams
Veterans Liasion Co-Chair
Texas South Plains Honor Flight
I
didn’t know who I was until I was 70 years old.” I know
what you, the reader, are thinking: how is that possible?
Korean War Era veteran, Billy D. Rudd, had gone by that
name for 70 years. Billy, born in 1930, went to get a passport
in 2000 and was told that he “didn’t exist.” This came as quite
a shock to Billy. His mother Lois was in a nursing home in
Amherst, Texas, so he went by to visit her and said, “Mom, I
need to know who I am.” No response from mom. Knowing
he was born in Muleshoe, he went to the court house, and
in just a few minutes, he was able to obtain a copy of his
birth certificate. To his surprise, his real name was Billie D.
Birchfield. His mother was only 17 when he was born to
Jeff and Lois Birchfield, who, soon after his birth, went their
separate ways. Lois met and married Ralph Rudd when Billy
was only two years old, but his mother never told Billy about
his biological father.

Billy’s stepfather Ralph was a farmer until 1946 when he
moved the family to Springlake, Texas, where he bought and
ran a service station. Billy said his favorite subject in school
was English, but he dropped out in the 10 grade and “began
th
working, stuccoing and plastering houses.” He was drafted
into the Army on March 5, 1951 and sent to Ft. Bliss in El Paso,
Texas for eight weeks of basic training and eight more weeks of
advanced artillery training. He noted that a group of area men
would “drive home on the weekends and would drive up to
100 miles per hour.” Once, they ran off the road, and “all of the
guys picked up the car and carried it back to the highway.”
His unit, the 63 Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion, shipped
rd
out to Germany by way of New York Harbor in July of 1951,
making the 14-day cruise onboard the USS C.H. Muir to
Mannheim, Germany. The 63 was sent to guard the air force
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base at Wiesbaden, Germany, with four 50mm guns mounted
on an M16 turret, to guard the 90mm anti-aircraft guns. Part
of Billy’s job was to guard the anti-aircraft weapons and
help move them where ordered. He noted that, at that time,
“The Russians wanted to take over all of Germany.” He was
transferred to the 27 Anti-aircraft Battalion in Mittenwald,
th
Germany and was even able to visit the “Eagle’s Nest” near
the town of Berchtesgaden. This Nazi headquarters was built
in 1938 and was primarily used for German government and
social meetings. He also recalled a 10-day trip to Paris, France
and said he and his buddies “had a great time.” They could
“buy a carton of Phillip Morris cigarettes for $2 and sell them
for $10.” His current wife, Jo Ann, remembered that “they were
young, handsome and having a good time.” Billy returned
to the states in January 1953 and was discharged at Ft. Hood,
Texas on February 17, 1953.

Billy met Mary Walker in a Muleshoe restaurant, and they
married in September 1954. She had a son, Richard, and she

84 Lubbock Senior Link