Sonny Montgomery: The Veteran’s Champion is the title of the recently released biography of G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery, a Meridian native and MSU Alumni, who served as the Congressman for Mississippi’s 3rd Congressional District until 1996.
The book chronicles everything from his years as a World War II hero, when he captured a German machine gun nest, to his days in Congress, when he championed the rights of America’s veterans.
As a fan of political biographies, I wanted to hear the dirt on his opponents who did not like his conservative politics, but was disappointed when I did not find any in his book.
Then I thought, “This is Mr. Montgomery. Why would I expect that from a man who represents what is good about public service?” He was just living up to his reputation as a man who befriends all, especially Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Montgomery and I became friends when I recently served as an intern for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Montgomery chaired the committee for several years. During that time, Montgomery and I about his career in politics.
His career began at MSU, where he served as Student Association president. If you ever want to talk with someone who bleeds Maroon and White, Montgomery is the one. He lights up when he speaks of his days at MSU.
This passion for MSU almost cost him his position as SA president. Montgomery says the president of the university at the time wanted to remove him from office because he felt Montgomery exceeded his SA presidential authority.
The highlight of Montgomery’s congressional career is the passage of the Montgomery G.I. Bill. He deserves recognition for the way in which he fought for its passage.
“I’m going to wrap this G.I. Bill up in a package and put powder around it … I’m going to make it like a rocket and I know it will pass,” he said, as reported by Bill Wagnon in an article on MSU’s Website.
The purpose of the peacetime G.I. Bill was to avoid reinstating the draft by improving the way serviceman were recruited and retained.
The bill was before the floor during the Reagan Revolution, when fiscal restraint and reducing the size of government were main priorities.
Several fiscally conservative members of Congress believed that the program was too expensive and that the federal government had too much power. Montgomery had to constantly negotiate and make concessions to pass it through.
One concession that he had to make was the enrollment fee of $100 per month that active-duty service personnel must pay. It is a fee that Montgomery would like to see abolished.
During House-Senate conference negotiations, a lead Senate negotiator proposed the fee. The senator fully expected Montgomery to reject the fee. However, that did not happen. Much to the senator’s chagrin, Montgomery accepted for the sake of saving the bill.
The compromise was a major factor in helping the bill to become law. After the compromise, the bill passed both House and Senate and was signed by President Reagan.
Military and civilians alike should thank Montgomery because his landmark piece of legislation has greatly improved our military force and strengthened our national defense.
Edward Sanders is a sophomore political science major. He can be reached at [email protected].