Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a public servant who has given a great deal not only to the State of North Carolina but to the country as a whole.

Since 1972, Mr. John Montgomery has served the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of our Nation's veterans. Later this month, he will retire from his position as director of the VA regional office in Winston-Salem in North Carolina.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1944, Mr. Montgomery is an Army veteran who served in an artillery unit in Vietnam from January 1969 to April of 1970. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brown University in 1967 and a law degree from Boston University in 1972. Mr. Montgomery began his VA career in Hartford, Connecticut regional office as a claims examiner in 1972. In 1975, he transferred to the VA central office in Washington, D.C. as a legal consultant, and 2 years later, he was

[Page: H1868] GPO's PDF selected as the adjudication officer at the VA Medical and Regional Office Center in Togus, Maine. Mr. Montgomery was named director of the Providence, Rhode Island VA Regional Office in 1980. In February of 1995, he traveled to North Carolina to begin work in his current position as director of the VA Regional Office in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In this position, he has been responsible for administering federal benefits to 790,000 veterans and their families living in North Carolina. These services total more than $1.2 billion in annual benefit payments.

The Winston-Salem Regional Office provides benefits and services in all program areas to veterans, servicemembers, and reservists residing in North Carolina. These programs include compensation, pension, loan guarantee, and vocational rehabilitation.

From 1995 to 2007, Mr. Montgomery oversaw the growth of the Winston-Salem Office from 240 employees to 530 employees. During this period, the office grew to the second largest disability office in the United States.

In 2005, he was successful in having Winston-Salem selected as one of only two national benefits delivery at discharge sites at regional offices. This achievement created an additional 55 professional full-time positions and helped to ensure that the regional office would be a key player in the VA for many years to come.

As director, Mr. Montgomery has supported the veteran community in hiring practices as well as in claims disability work. Of the 516 employees hired at the regional offices in the last 10 years, 260 were veterans, and of that number, 127 were disabled veterans.

Each year, I visit the Winston-Salem Regional Office to learn about the work being done there and, more importantly, to personally thank the VA employees for all they do on behalf of our Nation's veterans. It was during one of these visits that I was struck by a letter I saw hanging on the wall of Mr. Montgomery's office. His family had received a letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt after losing a loved one in World War II. And I quote President Roosevelt's letter.

``He stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live and grow, and increase its blessings. Freedom lives, and through it, he lives, in a way that humbles the undertakings of most men.''

I am so grateful that my friendship with Mr. Montgomery led me to this wonderful quote, which I have since shared in my own letters to families who have lost a loved one in Afghanistan or Iraq.

During my visits, Mr. Montgomery has generously acted as my guide and has introduced me to employees and visiting veterans. I have witnessed firsthand all of the great work being done by Mr. Montgomery and his staff to take care of our Nation's veterans. They have excelled in their efforts to reduce the number of pending claims while still maintaining the accuracy of their case audits.

In closing, Madam Speaker, I wish to congratulate Mr. Montgomery on his retirement and his long and successful career of service with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Through his work on behalf of our Nation's veterans, he has earned the respect of so many people, and I know he will be missed.

John Montgomery, thank you for a job well done. I wish you all the best for a long and happy retirement. May God bless you and your family in the years ahead, and may God bless our men and women in uniform, and may God bless America.