May 12, 2006
Media contact: Jeff Schrade (202) 224-9093

(Washington, DC) U.S. Senator Larry Craig, a Republican from Idaho and chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, reacted today with sadness upon learning of the passing of former U.S. Congressman Gillespie V. "Sonny" Montgomery, a Mississippi Democrat and long-time chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

"America's veterans have lost a great friend and our nation has lost a great patriot. Sonny Montgomery was a forceful advocate for veterans and his legacy of achievement still stands the test of time. The Montgomery GI Bill was his crowning achievement," Craig said.

The Montgomery G.I. Bill expanded benefits to National Guard and Reserve personnel and was adopted by Congress in 1987.

Respect for the former Congressman still resonates in Congress. On Thursday, the House voted to name a national defense authorization bill in his honor.

Gillespie V. "Sonny" Montgomery was born August 5, 1920.  In 1945, with only a .45 caliber pistol, he captured a band of 20 war-weary Germans, which earned him the Bronze Star for Valor. He later returned to active duty and served in Korea. His military career stretched for 35 years.

He was elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 1956, and gained national attention in 1962 as the commander of National Guard troops who protected Dr. Martin Luther King's "Freedom Ride." He retired from the Mississippi Guard with the state rank of Major General.

First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966, he would eventually serve 15 terms under 7 different presidents. The Mississippi Democrat entered Congress the same year as a young Republican Congressman from the neighboring state of Texas ? a man who was his life-long friend ? George H.W. Bush, the father of our current president. During Ronald Reagan's presidency, Montgomery became a charter member of the "Boll Weevils," a group of southern Democrats which supported Reagan's conservative legislative agenda.

On December 12, 1996, the Army awarded him with its highest honor -- the Army's Distinguished Civilian Service Award. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush on November 9, 2005.

The G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery VA Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi, is named in his honor, as is a C-17 Globemaster III known as the "Spirit of Sonny Montgomery" flown by the Mississippi Air National Guard.

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