A heart for soldiers

Columns

Discussion

May 16, 2006

By Sid Salter / syndicated columnist The Meridian Star Tue May 16, 2006, 11:45 PM CDT

There he stood in his dress greens, a diminutive man with close-cropped hair. Around him walked hundreds of well-dressed civilians there to pay their respects to a man he considered a brother — and who felt the same about him.

Friends call him “Stump.” People don’t call him “sir” because he works for a living. So many here know him and are drawn to him for a hearty handshake, a smile and his storehouse of memories of the man in the coffin up front.

But this grizzled old soldier kept his eyes — moist and red-rimmed — looking straight ahead at the scene before him.

The wake Monday night for the late U.S. Rep. G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery had all the military trappings that he loved and that the old soldier deserved. The funeral bier was stark, his coffin covered by Old Glory and under the watchful eyes of a military honor guard.

The C-17 Globemaster transport plane that bears his name — “The Spirit of G.V. ‘Sonny’ Montgomery” — was parked outside the open door of the cavernous hangar at the Mississippi Air National Guard base at Key Field. Near the casket was a large painting of Montgomery in his congressional prime, grinning that easy grin that made almost everyone he encountered feel like an old and trusted friend.

Stands of flowers were there from across the country sent by the famous and the powerful — and likewise from the meek and quiet among his 40-year constituents in his old Mississippi Senate district in Meridian.

On Tuesday, Montgomery would be remembered in a private Christian funeral service attended by family, close friends and congressional colleagues.

Former President George H.W. Bush was among the dignitaries. Montgomery spent many holidays with the Bush family in Kennebunkport, Maine, or at the Camp David presidential retreat.

The Bushes spoke of Montgomery as if he were a member of the family. Former first lady Barbara Bush would share her memories at the public memorial service at the grand old Temple Theatre in downtown Meridian. Montgomery would later be interred at Magnolia Cemetery, already the resting place of three other Mississippi congressmen.

Yet despite the power and influence that Montgomery wielded over an unblemished 30-year congressional career, Montgomery’s heart was never far from the soldiers he knew and loved, soldiers like Sgt. Maj. William R. “Stump” Jones of Lena.

Montgomery served in the Army and Mississippi Army National Guard for 35 years. He was a lieutenant in the 12th Armored Division in Europe during World War II, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He was mobilized as an Army Guard officer with the 31st Infantry Division for the Korean War and remained on active duty until 1952. He retired from the Mississippi Guard as a major general in 1980.

“Congressman ‘Sonny’ Montgomery’s contributions to the men and women of the National Guard and the other military services are beyond measure,” said Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau. “He did so many things to help define and shape our Guard force that enabled us to transform from a strategic reserve into an operational entity and equal partner with the other military services for the 21st century’s global war on terrorism.”

Jones is five months from his military retirement. He’s forgotten more about soldiering than most will ever know. Montgomery loved “Stump,” and the sergeant major’s admiration and respect for the congressman was obvious.

A photographer, “Stump” was along for the ride when Montgomery was in the field with Mississippi Guardsmen. He knew better than most why they called Montgomery “Mr. National Guard” and “Mr. Veteran.”

“He was The Man,” Jones said softly at Montgomery’s wake. “There won’t come another like him, either.”

In public, it was “Congressman” and “Sgt. Major.”

In private, it was “Sonny” and “Stump.”

Monday night, it was one old soldier saying a sad goodbye to another.

Sid Salter of Forest is Perspective editor of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson. His e-mail address is ssalter@clarionledger.com.

Text Only

Columns

Today’s need — $3,893.76
Today’s need concerns eleven circumstances. The first need is a couple in their forties working all the hours they can. The husband’s paycheck has been running low because he has not been receiving the hours at work he was accustomed to. With $274.38 we can keep their utilities form being cut off.

February 4, 2012
Killer, the cat ...
February 3, 2012
Counsel fight remains a political cold war
The ongoing legislative battle over the so-called “outside counsel” or contingency fee law remains a political cold war between the state’s trial lawyers and the state’s business and medical interests – and it’s a story that has two sides.

February 1, 2012
Travel technology
After leaving the Trapani Salt Flats on the western coast of Sicily on a late November afternoon, I maneuvered our vehicle down yet another remote, unmarked dirt road and passed dozens of vacant houses. No one was on the streets. It had been 10 minutes since we had seen another car. Sunlight was at a minimum. We had been warned several times about remote areas of Sicily.

February 1, 2012
Restoration spurs renewal in East Miss.
Choctaw tribal chief Phyliss Anderson restored and reopened Phillip M’s at the Pearl River Resort last week. She also signaled her intent to renew the economic policies so successfully implemented by the restaurant’s namesake.
"Under the visionary leadership of our late Chief Phillip Martin, our tribe realized great progress and today I am proud to honor his legacy with the re-opening of Phillip M's," said Anderson, flanked by members of Martin's family.

January 30, 2012
Today’s need — $2,393.77
1 JOHN 3:17 - “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has not pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” Praise belongs to God as every need in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 has been met. Thanks to everyone who has generously given over the years to change lives physically, financially, and spiritually. Each week I stand in awe of God as I witness God’s provision in our lives.

Today’s need concerns six circumstances. The first need is a lady in her fifties just released from the hospital. Her sister she was living with died a few months ago. She is trying as hard as she can to pay the mortgage to keep her sister’s house. She has been able to maintain all her expenses so far but does not have money for her prescriptions. These prescriptions are necessary to keep her physically well. With $300.00 we can provide her much needed medications.

January 29, 2012
Gratitude
As I sit down to write this first column in a wrap-up series of the six-month, 17-country, two-continent research tour through Europe, I am struck by an overwhelming feeling of gratitude.
I am grateful to the employees and managers of our restaurants who did an excellent job keeping the wheels in motion during my absence. I am grateful to our customers who helped make 2011 a record sales year for the company. I am grateful to longtime friends, new friends, and friends we have never even met for their prayers of support and well wishes. I am also grateful to the friends we met along the way.

January 25, 2012
Today’s need — $3,250
Today’s need concerns seven circumstances.

January 21, 2012
Family travel in France
While staying the City of Lights, I could write about the Louvre, Versailles, and French food. But as I start to wind down this six-month trip, I catch myself in a reflective mood looking back over the journey.
Back in Greece, I watched several college-age kids ride up the ramp of our ferry on motorcycles ready to cross the Adriatic Sea. I regretted not taking time off during my college years to backpack around Europe. I was always working.

January 18, 2012
The Tebow dilemma
January 15, 2012
More Columns Headlines

Columns

Search Results

Discussion

A heart for soldiers

Site Map

Contact Us