Creator of Montgomery GI Bill Dies: 
Former Congressman Gillespie V. “Sonny” Montgomery, 85, died Friday in Meridian, Miss., following a long illness. Montgomery, who spent 35 years in active and National Guard service, was known as a premier champion of veterans. Chief proponent of the 1987 legislation that expanded education and training benefits for veterans and that boosted recruiting in the all-volunteer force, Montgomery had served in both World War II and the Korean War and retired from the Guard as a major general. The life-long Democrat was first elected to Congress in 1966 and served 15 terms. Among his many awards are the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented last year, and his name on a Mississippi Air National Guard C-17 airlifter, the “Spirit of Sonny Montgomery.”
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
