[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5563]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 IN HONOR OF COMMISSIONER PETE WHEELER

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 23, 2015

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and 
solemn remembrance that I pay tribute to an outstanding civic leader 
and public servant of Georgia, Commissioner Pete Wheeler, longtime 
leader of the Georgia Department of Veterans Service (GDVS). 
Commissioner Wheeler passed away on Tuesday, April 21, 2015. A funeral 
service will be held on Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at Decatur 
First United Methodist Church in Decatur, Georgia.
  A Georgia man through and through, Pete Wheeler was a proud graduate 
of the University of Georgia and an attorney, admitted to the State Bar 
of Georgia in 1949. He served our nation with honor and distinction in 
the U.S. Army during World War II. In 1950, he joined the Georgia 
National Guard. He retired in 1978 with the rank of Brigadier General.
  Pete Wheeler joined the Georgia Department of Veterans Service in 
1949 as Director of the Education Division. In 1951, he was named 
Assistant Director of the Department. In 1954, he was appointed as the 
department's director but the title was later changed to Georgia 
Commissioner of Veterans Service. His strong and effective leadership 
was widely noted, for he was reappointed fifteen times and remained in 
charge up to his passing.
  For 66 years, Commissioner Wheeler acted as a voice for Georgia 
veterans and worked tirelessly to advocate on behalf of these national 
heroes who sacrificed so much to safeguard our cherished liberties.
  Shortly after his appointment as director of the GDVS, Commissioner 
Wheeler joined the effort to recognize Veterans Day as a new federal 
holiday. He was named Georgia Chairman of the National Veterans Day 
Committee and partnered with then-Governor of Georgia, Herman Talmadge, 
to arrange a formal ceremony for the signing of the proclamation 
declaring the new holiday in Georgia. This ceremony became a tradition 
in the state that is still honored today. Due to a decline in health, 
2014 marked the first year that Commissioner Wheeler was unable to 
attend but he certainly was there in spirit.
  In 1966, in response to the needs of the first veterans returning 
from the Vietnam War, as well as those of their families and survivors, 
Commissioner Wheeler created the Supermarket of Veterans Benefits, a 
one-day informational event aiming to gather local, state, and federal 
agencies that provide services to veterans. The event was so successful 
that it became an annual signature event of the GDVS and has been 
replicated throughout the country.
  In 1994, Commissioner Wheeler was appointed Chairman of the National 
World War II Memorial Advisory Board by President Bill Clinton, serving 
until the memorial's dedication by President George W. Bush in 2004. He 
served as a past president of the National Association of State 
Directors of Veterans Affairs and was a life member of the American 
Legion, DAV, and AMVETS.
  The Georgia General Assembly issued a resolution in 1998 renaming the 
state's war veterans memorial complex in Atlanta, Georgia as the ``Pete 
Wheeler Georgia War Veterans Memorial Complex.'' The complex includes 
memorials to Georgia veterans from the Spanish-American War through 
Desert Storm/Desert Shield. Earlier this year, Commissioner Wheeler 
approved the design for the next addition, a memorial honoring those 
killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, which will be dedicated on May 20, 
2015.
  On a personal note, Commissioner Pete Wheeler was a close friend of 
mine. I have truly been blessed by his friendship, counsel and 
inspiration throughout the years.
  Commissioner Wheeler has accomplished much in his life but none of 
this would have been possible without the love and support of his 
family. His wife of 59 years, Geraldine, and one daughter, Jane, 
preceded him in death. Mourning his memory and rejoicing his life are 
his daughter, Francis and son-in-law, Mark; son, Peter and daughter-in-
law, Debbie; son-in-law, John; and six grandchildren, Matthew, Joshua, 
Joanna, Alex, Charles, and Jonathan.
  Mr. Speaker, my wife Vivian and I, along with the more than 730,000 
residents of the Second Congressional District and veterans all across 
Georgia, salute Commissioner Pete Wheeler for his outstanding public 
service and his everlasting commitment to improving the quality of life 
for our veterans. I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives 
to join us in extending our deepest condolences to Commissioner 
Wheeler's family and friends during this difficult time. We pray that 
they will be consoled and comforted by an abiding faith and the Holy 
Spirit in the days, weeks and months ahead.

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