Salter: Book honors life of late ‘Sonny’ Montgomery

Originally published in the Clarion Ledger and written by Sid Salter:

STARKVILLE – It’s sad but true that many of the Mississippi State University students who walk past the bronze statue at the southwest corner of the Drill Field on a daily basis have little or no idea who Gillespie V. “Sonny” Montgomery was or why his imposing visage guards the heart of the campus.

But older Mississippians know that perhaps no single individual ever did more to advance the cause of accessibility to higher education and to guarantee the survival of America’s volunteer armed forces than did the longtime soldier, businessman, congressman and patriot from Meridian whose ancestors were among the founding fathers of MSU.

A book honoring Montgomery’s extraordinary life and work is set to debut later this week. Commissioned by the Montgomery Foundation and produced from the “Sonny Montgomery Collection” by the MSU Libraries, the pictorial history of Montgomery’s life was gleaned from over 13,500 photographs donated to the university by Montgomery.

The book will be donated by the Montgomery Foundation to National Guard armories and facilities, schools and institutions of higher learning, and other appropriate venues as a testament to Montgomery’s remarkable legacy.

< Read More >