Political Quotes

“today I wish to honor Gerald Robert Zelmer, a veteran of the Vietnam war. Gerald, I would like to thank you, on behalf of the State of Montana, and the United States of America, for your service to this Nation. Gerald, known by his friends and family as Gerry, was born in Bismarck, ND, on June 25, 1947. He married the love of his life, Dora Jean or D.J., on October 12, 1968, in Worden, MT, at the height of the Vietnam conflict. Two months later, Gerry was off to war. He attended boot camp in Fort Lewis, WA, and then moved on to advanced infantryman training in Fort Eustis, VA. He deployed soon thereafter, serving proudly with the 101st Airborne Division out of Camp Eagle. Gerry served as a helicopter crew chief, ensuring that pilots and crews were safe as they flew aerial missions. His skills on the battlefield ensured that rotary-wing aircraft were fine-tuned and ready to take off for their missions. Gerry is a fixer and a problem solver. In Vietnam, he fixed helicopters and kept our birds in the air, covering our soldiers on the ground. When he returned from war, he worked as a maintenance foreman at Montana Sulphur and Chemical. It is his skills on the battlefield, his bravery and courage, and his service to our Nation that earned him these commendations decades ago. It is my honor to finally deliver them today. As a father to Carrie and Cody and grandfather to two grandchildren Sienna and Aden, he will get that long overdue acknowledgement.…”