They're among more than a dozen people who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award, at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., next week, the White House announced.

Montgomery, who grew up in Meridian and is now a business consultant there, was elected to Congress in 1966. In Washington, he was known not only as one of the city's most eligible bachelors — he never married — but also as a staunch veterans advocate. He retired from the National Guard as a major general.

While in Congress, Montgomery chaired the House Select Committee on Americans Missing in Action in Southeast Asia, and he later authored landmark legislation that rewrote the original 1947 GI Bill. The new Montgomery GI Bill extended benefits to thousands of soldiers, including those who served in the National Guard.

"He's a prince of a fellow," said Marty Wiseman, a political scientist at Mississippi State University's John C. Stennis Institute of Government and a longtime friend of Montgomery's.

"You hear a lot of stories about people in Washington, some good some bad," said Wiseman, whose father went to MSU with Montgomery. "He's one you only hear good things about. He's so much a gentleman, and always has been."

Third District Rep. Chip Pickering, who replaced Montgomery in the House of Representatives after Montgomery decided not to run again, called him an "icon and a hero to veterans and generations of Mississippians."

"He has been a powerful player in the United States Congress, a counselor to presidents and a loyal friend and representative to his state," Pickering said Friday.

"He'll take my phone calls," Montgomery said of the president. "That's how you can tell if you're still popular, if they'll take your phone calls."

He said he last spoke with the younger Bush about a week ago. The topic, he said, was nothing in particular, just the state of the country in general.

In 1945, Montgomery helped capture a German machine gun nest and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, one of many awards and medals he's received.

He earned a living in the insurance business in Meridian, served his country again as a soldier in the Korean War, but couldn't resist the pull of politics.

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