Louis grew up north of Clearwater, Nebraska.  He was the son of Carl Rudolph and Elsie Ahlers and was inducted into the Army at the age of 18 in September 1944.  He took basic training at Camp Walters, Texas. He was sent to the Philippines and was engaged in combat on the Islands of Mindanao and Leyte and also Okinawa.  Later he was a guard on the perimeter of Hiroshima.  He was discharged on December 12, 1945.  Louis has been in the bakery business for many years in the western states.  For six years he was manager/distributor for Pepsi Cola and now owns and operates a bakery in Sidney, Nebraska.  He is married and has six children.