[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 16, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN REMEMBRANCE OF G.V. ``SONNY'' MONTGOMERY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. NICK J. RAHALL, II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 16, 2006

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the life of a man 
that I am proud to have called a colleague and a friend, Gillespie V. 
``Sonny'' Montgomery. Sonny had already been serving the people of 
Mississippi for 10 years by the time I had been elected to Congress, 
but his drive and tenacity for the men and women of his District and of 
the armed services: rivaled that of any of my freshman class of 1977.
  The epitome of one man making a difference, Sonny helped expand the 
G.I. Bill to Guardsmen and Reservists and helped make possible the 
dream of a higher education to countless Americans. His efforts to 
elevate the Veterans Administration into the 14th Cabinet level 
department truly ensured, in his words, that ``veterans will no longer 
have to go through the back door to the White House.''
  Few men leave the kind of lasting legacy that Sonny leaves. When I am 
back home in West Virginia, I see him in the faces of the West Virginia 
National Guard. The time before his accomplishments seem to stand in 
stark contrast to the current realities of serving our great Nation, 
and it reminds us all of how justice always needs an advocate.
  I see how one man can better the lives of so many, and it reminds and 
reaffirms in me what it means to be a public servant.
  This coming Memorial Day, we will remember and pay tribute to those 
who have served our country, in doing so we also remember and pay 
tribute to Sonny.
  As the Lord welcomes him back home into the Kingdom of Heaven, may we 
all honor his legacy by picking up the torch that he so skillfully 
carried.

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