JACKSON - "Sonny" Montgomery is still making an impact at his beloved alma mater, Mississippi State University.
About 50 of Montgomery's family and close friends gathered in the John Grisham Room at MSU's Mitchell Memorial Library to commemorate the 86th anniversary of Montgomery's birth.
Montgomery died May 12 in a Meridian hospital of complications from an abdominal obstruction. He served Mississippi in Congress for 30 years, from 1967 to 1997.
Prior to that, Montgomery served for a decade in the Mississippi state Senate.
The highlight of the celebration was the donation to the university by Montgomery Foundation President Robert J. "Bob" Bailey of a number of items belonging to the former Mississippi congressman and MSU alumnus.
Bailey presented to MSU President Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded to Montgomery by President George W. Bush in 2005.
Other items donated included Montgomery's MSU class ring, his congressional office flags and other memorabilia, including the congressman's Combat Infantry Badge lapel pin.
Most impressive was Bailey's recounting of Montgomery's financial generosity to MSU. Montgomery,. who lived a simple, almost frugal personal life, gave directly or indirectly over the course of his life more than $1.25 million to MSU and to MSU Meridian to provide scholarships for students and to enhance university library services.
A substantial portion of those funds came from a 1996 fund-raising dinner in Washington as MSU and a host of Montgomery's friends and government colleagues paid tribute to him in an event billed as "Salute to a Patriot: A Tribute to Sonny Montgomery."
The dinner was attended by dignitaries including former President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush, novelist John Grisham, actress Sela Ward, former Secretary of Defense William Perry, then-Mississippi Gov. Kirk Fordice and many other dignitaries. My late mother and I attended the event and had a ball.
Proceeds from that 1996 benefit dinner as well as other gifts from Montgomery's friends and supporters were used to establish the Sonny Montgomery Scholarship Fund to support students at State.
Couple those scholarship funds at MSU and the benefits of the Montgomery G.I. Bill at all eight Mississippi colleges and universities as well as the state's community college system and it is clear that the Meridian native provided more educational opportunity to the state's youth than perhaps any Mississippian in history.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who knew Montgomery for the whole of his tenure on Capitol Hill, offered the following remarks after Montgomery's death earlier this year:
"With the passing on of Sonny Montgomery, America has lost a true patriot, and the men and women in uniform have lost one of their most passionate advocates. A decorated veteran of World War II - where he won the Bronze Star for capturing a German machine gun nest - as well as the Korean War, Sonny Montgomery brought his personal experience and expertise in military matters to bear in a lifetime of public service.
"It was a privilege to serve with Sonny when he first joined the House of Representatives in the late 1960s. Because of the way he treated everyone with grace and respect, Sonny would go on to become one of the most beloved and respected members of Congress on both sides of the aisle," Rumsfeld said.
But for many Mississippians, this writer included, Montgomery will simply be remembered as "Sonny" - Bulldog, soldier, public servant, patriot, statesman and friend.
"Sonny" loved State - and the university always loved him back.
