In Memory of
Army Sergeant
Lloyd C. Rundell
Hurley, South Dakota
Turner County
August 30, 1917 – October 21, 1944
Killed in Action at Leyte Island

Lloyd C. Rundell was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Rundell and the brother of Ethelyn (Mork), Dorothy (Johnson), Edgar, Robert, and Harold Rundell.  He was born on August 30, 1917, on a farm west of Hurley, South Dakota.  Lloyd grew up near Hurley, attended school in Hurley, and graduated from Hurley High School in 1934.

Lloyd enlisted from Turner County on July 9, 1942, and was assigned to the 7^th Cavalry Troop F.  He wrote many letters to his family.  One letter from Camp Robinson, Arkansas was dated August 8, 1942.  It tells that he won a medal for Sharp Shooting.  His sister Ethelyn remembers, “He placed third in his company of 200 men; his score was 169 with the two men ahead of him at 170.”  Sgt. Rundell also sent a Christmas card from Fort Bliss, Texas.  While in Texas his horse kicked him and broke his leg.  Soon after he made a model P38 airplane of empty shell cases and rings made of coins.  Sgt. Rundell was sent overseas in May of 1943.  A “V Airmail” letter dated August 2, 1943 was from Australia.  A “V Airmail” letter dated February 6, 1944, was from New Guinea.   Sgt. Rundell was in the Invasion of Admiralty Islands.

Sgt. Lloyd C. Rundell lost his life in the Invasion of Leyte Island.  A headline in the Argus Leader dated October 21, 1944, reads, “Yanks Drive on Leyte Airfields.”  His Commanding Officer wrote in part:

Troop F had a mission of seizing and holding the high ground on the outskirts
of the city.  During the troops advance, we came under intense fire from Jap
mortar. Shrapnel from a round that exploded near him hit Lloyd and he was
killed instantly.  I was an eyewitness and know Lloyd suffered no pain at the
time of his death.  He was a fine soldier and well deserving of his rank as
Sergeant. He died honorably in the execution of his duties.  You may well be
proud of his record as a soldier.  He will long be remembered by his friends in
the 7^th Cavalry.

Lloyd’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Rundell, received a letter from the Chaplain, Thomas E. McKnight, which reads in part:

Lloyd was placed in an American Cemetery in Leyte, Philippine Islands.  He
was given religious rites and military honors.  The grave is marked with an
appropriate marker, having his name, rank, and serial number.  We count it
an honor to have him in our organization and mourn his loss with you.

Besides the marker in the Philippine Islands, there is also a marker in the Hurley Cemetery where his parents, Clyde and Mable Rundell, are buried.  The Purple Heart was presented to him, posthumously, December 29, 1944, and was sent to his parents. 

Sgt. Lloyd C. Rundell’s service and sacrifice will always be remembered.  He was a great soldier and gave his life for his country.

This entry was respectfully submitted by Breann Richards, Parker High School, Parker, South Dakota, on April 30, 2002.  Ethelyn Rundell Mork of Hurley, South Dakota provided the information.  She is the sister of Sgt. Lloyd C. Rundell.