Memorial

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Archibald C. Dudley graduated from Clemson College in 1941.

In a letter from General George Patton to Lt Dudley's sister, Nancy: "First Lieutenant Dudley and his platoon set out in boats to cross the Saar River at 0410 hours on 6 December. Conditions were difficult at best, with the river swollen by seasonal rains and the temperatures very cold. Upon reaching the east bank of the Saar near Pachten, Germany at approximately 0425, Dudley was struck in the left shoulder and chest by enemy small arms fire. A medic administered first aid, but the fire from enemy pillboxes was so intense and the battle so “vicious” that Dudley could not be evacuated.
According to Patton, at 0630 the area in which Dudley remained came under “a violent enemy artillery barrage.”
Patton reported that the area was held until December 22, but that for the entire period it was under German small
arms as well as indirect fire. As a result, Dudley “was among those many brave soldiers who were buried at night
without lights or opportunity to read identification tags.” Patton went on to assure Miss Dudley that “there was
always a chaplain to speak the last words.”

He is remembered at the Miller’s United Methodist Church Cemetery in Mullins, Marion County, South Carolina.