| The following
biographical summary was written by LTC Larry Wayne, USA, Retired,
nephew of Vaal Dudenbostel, Kevin Mark Dudenbostel, Vaal's oldest son,
and Cheryl Dudenbostel Gray, Vaal's oldest daughter.
On 19 December 1942, PVT Vaal
Gene “Dude” Dudenbostel joined Company D, 409th Infantry,
from the Reception Center at Camp Grant Michigan. On 1 April 1943
“Dude” was promoted to the rank of Private First Class.
On 17th September 1943, Company D left Area X at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana
and crossed the IP at 1102 hours and traveled 67 miles arriving at the
Division Maneuver Area at 1600; located some
3.5 miles southwest of Leesville, Louisiana. There, along with
other members of Company D, "Dude" participated in the
Louisiana 3rd Army Maneuvers, which lasted until 20 November, 1943.
On that date, the company undertook a motor movement
from the Concentration Area at Merryville, Louisiana, to Camp Howze,
Texas. During
the 300 mile trip there was an overnight bivouac at Camp Fannin, Texas.
The unit arrived in Camp Howze, Texas, their new permanent station, on
21 November, 1943. .
On 28 December 1943, "Dude" was promoted to Temporary Corporal.
It was 21 September 1944
when the
unit left Camp Howze, Texas by rail on a permanent change of station to
Camp Shanks, New York, arriving on the morning of 24 September 1944.
At 1905 hours, 5 October 1944, Company D, 409th
Infantry departed Camp Shanks, New York for travel to
the New York Port of Entry arriving at 1930 hours. There they
boarded the USS Monticello for an “unknown” destination. Later,
while at sea, the troops were informed the ship's destination was Marseilles,
France. After 14 days at sea, the USS Monticello arrived in Marseilles on
20 October 1944. The Port was littered with sunken boats.
During combat operations, somewhere in France
during the latter days of November 1944, Vaal was hit by sniper fire. The story told by
Vaal's two brothers, and one Sergeant Dudenbostel himself corroborated,
was that when hit the bullet entered his helmet, ricocheted off his
skull, then passed between the skull and scalp, exiting out the back of
his head. According to "Dude's" account, the wound was not serious
enough to require immediate medical attention, but left "Dude" with a
serious headache for a couple of days. Vaal's son recalls a scar along
the hairline of "Dude's" scalp where hair didn't grow. This wound
accounted for his first Purple Heart.
On 24 November 1944 along with CPL Thomas R. Duff, Vaal was promoted to Sergeant.
Combat operations on 2 December 1944 at Selestat,
France, resulted in 2 members of D Company killed, 8 wounded, and 18
captured. Among those captured was Vaal’s Section Sergeant,
Staff Sergeant Elvin Beemer.
The best, and most logical, chain of events were
pieced together from Morning Reports and other information. It seems
that Sergeant Dudenbostel was given the responsibility
of Section Sergeant after Staff Sergeant Elvin Beemer’s capture. On 14 December, 1944,
First Lieutenant Ralph Lamb, Platoon Leader ,Tech Sergeant Louis Smith, Platoon Sergeant,
Sergeant Thomas Duff, Radio
Operator and Sergeant Vaal Dudenbostel, Section Sergeant, established a
Forward Observation post near Cleebourg France. Sergeant Dudenbostel
recounted to his oldest son, Kevin Dudenbostel, that the four men
manning the Forward Observation post had captured a German soldier.
After his capture, the German prisoner was standing beside the four men
from D Company. Sergeant Dudenbostel had bent over to call in fire
coordinates when incoming fire, thought to be either
a mortar or an 88mm round, passed through the German prisoner, killing him
instantly. The round then exploded instantly killing First Lieutenant Lamb and
Sergeant Duff. Staff Sergeant Smith suffered mortal wounds and succumbed
to them seven days after his transfer to the 57th Field
Hospital. Sergeant Dudenbostel suffered a number of shrapnel wounds in his back
as a result of his facing away from the exploding round. Sergeant
Dudenbostel was transferred to the 59th
Evacuation Hospital and spent the remainder of the war with
elements of the 7th Army. On 20 February 1946 Sergeant Dudenbostel was discharged.
He later served with the 130th
Infantry, Illinois National Guard and was appointed a Warrant Officer, rising to the rank of WO2.
After the unit was reorganized, WO2 Vaal Dudenbostel accepted a lateral
transfer to the rank of Master Sergeant and was appointed First Sergeant
of Company B, 130th Infantry. On 6 July 1962, Company B,
130th Infantry began its summer training at Camp Ripley, Minnesota. First Sergeant Vaal Dudenbostel passed away
at Camp Ripley, Minnesota on 9 July, 1962. He was buried in his home town of West Frankfort, Illinois.
Today, a plaque hangs in his honor in the entrance to the West Frankfort
Armory.
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