¶ … Autobiography of Sonny Montgomery
Montgomery, Sonny. Sonny Montgomery: The Veteran's Champion. With Michael B. Ballard and Craig S. Piper. University Press of Mississippi.
In an election year, it is common to become cynical about the motivations and the limited ability of the political process to enact real and serious changes to the nation's ideological and social infrastructure. However, the story of Sonny Montgomery: The Veteran's Champion is a powerful reminder of how politicians, specifically congressman Sonny Montgomery, a veteran of World War II and a beneficiary of the first GI bill, can indeed use the memory of powerful past personal experiences to motivate them to create positive political changes for the present and future generations. In Montgomery's case, as the title of the book implies, the source of the congressman's passion was his commitment to the nation's veterans, young and old.
Even before he came to congress and to public, political service, Montgomery was considered to be an American hero. In 1945, Sonny Montgomery was instrumental in capturing a nest of German machine guns in a critical tactical move, and he earned the Bronze Star Medal for Valor as a result of his service. He also served during the Korean War. Montgomery says that military service is an important reminder that no heroics are purely individual. One must...
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