it is my honor today to pay tribute to a fellow native of Montpelier, VT, GEN Richard Cody. General Cody is going to be honored next month--and deservedly so--by his alma mater, Montpelier High School. Following his graduation from Montpelier High School, General Cody attended and graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. This was the launch of an outstanding U.S. Army career which took him all over our country and world and culminated in his service from 2004 to 2008 as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. I am really proud to share a hometown with such a distinguished member of our military. I remember how proud Marcelle and I were of General Cody on the day of his retirement ceremony, with full honors, here in Washington. The Codys and the Leahys go back decades in Montpelier and have always been friends. General Cody, his siblings, and parents have been among the business and civic leaders in that city for as long as I can remember, and they have always shown the best of true Vermont values. The General brought those values of hard work, patriotism, and especially integrity to his military career, and ended that career as the best example a soldier could have. Even the Secretary of Defense was there for the retirement ceremony to honor him. I think of this man who would often march from his quarters in Virginia to the Pentagon carrying a military pack just to remind himself of what soldiers on the front line were doing.…
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