Sonny Montgomery
Sonny Montgomery | |
---|---|
U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi | |
In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1997 | |
Preceded by | Prentiss Walker |
Succeeded by | Chip Pickering |
Constituency | 4th district (1967–1973) 3rd district (1973–1997) |
Chair of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee | |
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1995 | |
Preceded by | Ray Roberts |
Succeeded by | Bob Stump |
Member of the Mississippi State Senate | |
In office 1956–1966 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Gillespie V. Montgomery August 5, 1920 Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. |
Died | May 12, 2006 Meridian, Mississippi, U.S. | (aged 85)
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Mississippi State University (BA) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1943–1980 |
Rank | Major General |
Unit | Mississippi Army National Guard |
Battles/wars | World War II Korean War |
Gillespie V. "Sonny" Montgomery (August 5, 1920 – May 12, 2006) was an American soldier and politician from
Early life
Born in
Military service
A 1943 Reserve Officers' Training Corps graduate, Gillespie was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army.[4] He served with the 12th Armored Division in Europe during World War II.[4] He served on active duty again during Korean War, this time as a member of the 31st Infantry Division. Montgomery was a member of the Mississippi Army National Guard until 1980, and retired as a major general.[4] For his military service, Montgomery received the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with "V" for Valor device, Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge.
Business career
Before running for Congress, he owned his own insurance company, the Montgomery Insurance Agency.[5] In addition, he served as vice president of the Greater Mississippi Life Insurance Company of Meridian, Mississippi.[5]
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
- Chairman, Select Committee on Military Involvement in Southeast Asia (Ninety-first Congress)
- Chairman, Select Committee on Missing in Action in Southeast Asia (Ninety-fourth Congress)
- Chairman, House Veterans' Affairs Committee(Ninety-seventh through One Hundred Third Congresses)
Elections
Montgomery represented part of Meridian in the
Montgomery was one of the more conservative Democrats in the House, and was known for being more "hawkish" than other members of his party.[8] He was very popular in his district, usually winning reelection by some of the highest margins in the country. Although the district's voters were increasingly willing to vote Republican at the national level (it has only supported the official Democratic candidate for president once since 1956), at the local level Montgomery usually faced "sacrificial lamb" opponents on the few occasions he faced any Republican opposition at all. Montgomery ran unopposed from 1970 to 1974, in 1980, and from 1984 to 1990. In four elections—1972, 1980, 1984 and 1988—Montgomery ran unopposed even as the Republican presidential candidate carried the district in a landslide. Observers assumed that Montgomery would be succeeded by a Republican after he retired, given the crossover of conservative white voters from the Democratic Party to the GOP in the second half of the 20th century. As it turned out, when Montgomery retired in 1996, the district was taken by Republican Chip Pickering in a landslide. The Democrats have only put up a candidate in the district four times since then, and have only won more than 35 percent of the vote once.
Tenure
During his time in Congress, Montgomery was one of only three Representatives who voted to reject the Judiciary Committee's report on the Watergate scandal following Nixon's resignation; Montgomery joined Earl Landgrebe and Otto Passman as the three opposed compared to 412 in favor.[9]
He was the author of the
Montgomery's greatest legislative victory was the enactment of the bill that bears his name: the Montgomery
As Veterans' Affairs Committee chairman, Montgomery led opposition to the Kerry-Daschle bill (Agent Orange Disabilities Act of 1987, S.1787) that would have required the VA to begin compensating veterans who contracted non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and lung cancer a presumed service-connected disease. Montgomery asserted that "further studies were needed to prove a connection between various diseases and Agent Orange before the government should be held liable for disability benefits" despite several such JAMA published studies by the National Cancer Institute and the VA and one by the New Jersey Agent Orange Commission.[11] Subsequent scientific studies made connections between Agent Orange and Vietnam Veterans illnesses and the increased birth defects of their children. In 1991 Montgomery stood behind president George H. W. Bush at the signing of the Agent Orange Act. He had opposed a similar bill the previous year. After years of opposing Vietnam Veterans receiving disability for exposure to Agent Orange, he now appeared as their champion.[12] In the same year he authored the Montgomery Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987, which effectively transferred control of the National Guard away from the states and to the Department of Defense by prohibiting state governors from withholding National Guard forces.
On September 13, 1988, Montgomery became the first congressman to lead the U.S. House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as a permanent part of its daily and morning business operations.
He was a delegate to
Memorials
- A statue of Montgomery on the campus of Mississippi State University where he was Student Association President for the 1942–43 school year.[citation needed] A bust of him is located in the campus library and a duplicate bust is located at the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby alongside Congressman Montgomery's personal effects from his military service in the Second World War and National Guard.
A number of public projects have been named in his honor, including:
- The VA Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi
- The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway
- The G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery Naval Reserve Center at NAS Meridian in Meridian, Mississippi
- The G. V. Montgomery Airport in Forest, Mississippi
- A Mississippi Air National Guard C-17 Globemaster III was named “The Spirit of G.V. ‘Sonny’ Montgomery.” Montgomery became the third person in the United States to have a military fleet named in his honor.
- The G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi.
- The G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Advisement and Career Services Center[16] at Mississippi State University's Meridian, Mississippi College Park campus.
- The G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery Conference and Special Events Room at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office building in Washington, D.C.
References
- ^ "Gillespie V. "Sonny" Montgomery". Find A Grave. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
- ^ "Biography:Gillespie V. "Sonny" Montgomery". www.sonnymontgomery.org. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
- ^ ISBN 1-57806-554-2.
- ^ a b c Zwiers, Maarten. "Biography, Sonny Montgomery (1920–2006)". Mississippi Encyclopedia.org. Jackson, MS: Mississippi Humanities Council. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-87289-124-1 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-1-57806-554-7.
- ISBN 978-1-62674-162-1.
- ^ ISBN 0-465-04195-7.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mr. Veteran": Congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery will retire soon, but his legacy to veterans will live on". Paraplegia News. FindArticles.com. 20 Sep, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb4927/is_n11_v50/ai_n32003780>
- ISBN 0-8129-9103-6
- ISBN 0-8129-9103-6
- ^ "Salute to a Patriot: G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery (Mississippi State University)". Archived from the original on 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
- ^ "Death of G. V. Sonny Montgomery". georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
- OCLC 883645289.
Dad loved to play paddleball, a fast-moving game that requires good hand-eye coordination. One of his favorite playing partners was Congressman Sonny Montgomery, a Democrat from Mississippi.
- ^ "New G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery Advisement and Career Services Center dedicated at MSU-Meridian". Retrieved 2 February 2018.
External links
- United States Congress. "Sonny Montgomery (id: M000865)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-5-13
- Bio
- The G.V. Sonny Montgomery Foundation
- The Montgomery Institute
- Associated Press obituary[permanent dead link]
- NY Times obituary
- Meridian Star Article
- Appearances on C-SPAN