Aviation Electronicsman Third Class Ruddell was the radarman of a AD-4NL Skyraider night fighter with Composite Squadron 35 aboard the carrier USS PRINCETON (CV-37). On June 8, 1952, while returning from combat mission, the aircraft crashed into the sea, killing him and the pilot. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.