Gillespie V . Montgomery Gillespie V . " Sonny " Montgomery ( August 5 , 1920 – May 12 , 2006 ) was an American politician from Mississippi who served in the U . S . House of Representatives 1967 – 1997 . He was also retired Major general of the Mississippi National Guard , who saw service during World War II . Early life . Born in Meridian , Mississippi , he graduated from Mississippi State University in Starkville in 1943 and was a member of the Beta Tau chapter of Kappa Alpha Order . For his military service , Montgomery received the Legion of Merit , Bronze Star Medal with " V " Device , Army Commendation Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge . U . S . House of Representatives . Elections . Montgomery represented part of Meridian in the Mississippi House of Representatives between 1956 and 1966 . He was elected to Congress from what was then the 4th District in 1966 after Prentiss Walker , the first Republican elected to either house of Congress from Mississippi since Reconstruction , gave up the seat after only one term to run for the United States Senate . He was reelected 14 times . His district was renumbered as the 3rd District after the 1970 census . Montgomery was one of the more conservative Democrats in the House . Most notably , he was known for being somewhat more " hawkish " than other members of his party . He was very popular in his district , usually winning reelection by some of the highest margins in the country . Although his district was already turning Republican at the national level , Montgomery usually faced " sacrificial lamb " opponents on the few times the Republicans even put up any opposition at all . He even ran unopposed from 1970 to 1974 , in 1980 and from 1984 to 1990 . On four of those occasions — 1972 , 1980 , 1984 and 1988 — Montgomery ran unopposed even as the Republican presidential candidate carried the district in a landslide . Nonetheless , it was taken for granted that he would be succeeded by a Republican once he retired . Tenure . He was the author of the G . I . Bill of Rights that gives members of the service money to pay for college and was a lead sponsor in establishing the Veterans Affairs cabinet level position . Montgomery gave a speech on the House floor in April 1975 in which he spoke against foreign aid to South Vietnam and said , " The South Vietnamese can blame only themselves for their present situation . " Montgomery ' s greatest legislative victory was the enactment of the bill that bears his name : the Montgomery GI Bill . In 1981 , he came to the forefront to lead the fight for passage of a new G . I . Bill . As a World War Il veteran , he believed that the country should provide educational benefits to its service members and that the combination of military service and a college degree would make these individuals valuable assets to the country . He also wanted to reverse the Department of Defense ' s declining recruitment efforts , which had dropped sharply in the 1980s , and improve the overall quality of the volunteers . Nearly half of those recruited during that time lacked high - school diplomas and the basic skills needed in a modern military . Congressman Montgomery saw that educational shortfall as a direct threat to America ' s military readiness and national security . As Veterans ' Affairs Committee chairman , Montgomery led opposition to the Kerry - Daschle bill ( Agent Orange Disabilities Act of 1987 , S . 1787 ) that would have required the VA to begin compensating veterans who contracted non - Hodgkins lymphoma and lung cancer a presumed service - connected disease . Montgomery asserted that " further studies were needed to prove a connection between various diseases and Agent Orange before the government should be held liable for disability benefits " despite several such JAMA published studies by the National Cancer Institute and the VA and one by the New Jersey Agent Orange Commission . Subsequent scientific studies made connections between Agent Orange and Vietnam Veterans illnesses and the increased birth defects of their children . In 1991 Montgomery stood behind president George Bush at the signing of the Agent Orange Act . He had opposed a similar bill the previous year . After years of opposing Vietnam Veterans receiving disability for exposure to Agent Orange , he now appeared as their champion . In the same year he authored the Montgomery Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1987 , which effectively transferred control of the National Guard away from the states and to the Department of Defense by prohibiting state governors to withhold National Guard forces . On September 13 , 1988 , Montgomery became the first congressman to lead the U . S . House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as a permanent part of its daily and morning business operations . The day prior to his death , Congressman Gene Taylor introduced an amendment to a House Defense Appropriations Bill to rename the bill the Sonny Montgomery National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 . Following his death , James F . Webb Funeral Home in Meridian , Mississippi performed the funeral services . President George W . Bush ordered U . S . flags to be flown at half staff . In addition , the U . S . House of Representatives canceled non - suspension votes on the day of his funeral . Montgomery was buried in Magnolia Cemetery in Meridian , Mississippi . He was a delegate to Democratic National Convention from Mississippi in 1996 . On November 10 , 2005 , he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the highest American civilian honor , by President George W . Bush . Memorials . A number of public projects have been named in his honor , including :