[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 88 (Wednesday, June 23, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7305-S7306]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RETIREMENT OF MAJOR GENERAL JOHN ``GENE'' PRENDERGAST

 Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today I honor and congratulate my 
friend MG Prendergast.
  After 46 years of loyal military service to Montana and our Nation, 
the top officer of the Montana National Guard will step down from his 
post August 1, as age prevents Major General Prendergast from serving 
beyond his 64th birthday.
  Some call him general, some call him husband, father, son. I call 
this outstanding individual, my friend. I have known Gene since the 
early years in our hometown of Helena, MT, where we both lived and 
played, studied and worked. In 1958, when Dwight Eisenhouser was 
President, Major General Prendergast volunteered for his first of many 
military positions in the Montana Air National Guard while also working 
a civilian job at a local bank. I worked with him at the Union Bank 
during the summer months away from school. In 1960, he transferred into 
the Montana National Guard and received his commission in 1967 as an 
ordnance officer.
  Major General Prendergast worked his way up through the ranks, and 
held various titles, including automotive platoon leader, instructor at 
the Montana Military Academy, assistant commandant and chief of staff 
of the Montana National Guard. He graduated from the Regents College of 
the State University of New York in 1993.
  For his outstanding service and many years of commitment to our 
Nation, Major General Prendergast has been awarded the Meritorious 
Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, 
Armed Forces Reserve Medal, and the Army Reserve Components Overseas 
Training Ribbon, among other medals.
  Major General Prendergast is known among his colleagues, his friends, 
and all Montanans for his commitment to the American Nation. In his own 
words, ``There is no higher calling than serving your country in 
uniform. What it's all about is the soldier in uniform.''
  Today I honor both the soldier and the man. I have been so fortunate 
to have this man as my friend over many years. In fact, my good friend 
shares with me a love for long-distance running, and I have enjoyed 
running many

[[Page S7306]]

miles with the general under Montana's big sky. We run and talk, laugh 
and share family stories.
  As I reflect on the years I have been fortunate to know MG Gene 
Prendergast, I am reminded of the plaque which hangs in his office that 
his wife, Kathy, had made for him, the long-distance runner:

       ``The race is not always to the swift, but those who keep 
     on running.'' Around the world in 22 years--running 25,000 
     miles--June 1978-August 2000.

  For my friend, MG Gene Prendergast, the race has only just begun. You 
are a soldier's soldier. I salute you for your outstanding service to 
our State and to this Nation.

                          ____________________