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Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, was the author of legislation passed by
Congress last year which renames the clinic the Bob Michel
Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic. Sen. Richard
Durbin, D-Ill., advanced the legislation in the U.S. Senate.
Michel, a Peoria native and former U.S. House Republican Leader,
was an Army infantryman in Europe during World War II. He was
wounded during the Battle of the Bulge and was the recipient of two
Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, a Presidential Unit Citation and
four Battle Stars. Michel was instrumental in obtaining the federal
funding that established the clinic.
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 Michel, LaHood and Durbin will give remarks at the ceremony.
Linda W. Belton, director of Veterans Integrated Service Network 11,
will also deliver remarks.
This event will be outside the main entrance to the clinic, 411
Martin Luther King Drive. A tent will provide protection in case of
inclement weather.
[Robert H. Michel biography]
[News release from
Rep. Ray LaHood,
18th Congressional District] |
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Robert H. Michel's life is the true essence of the American dream.
The son of a French immigrant, Michel is a Peoria native who rose to
the highest levels of public service in the United States. He is a
graduate of Peoria schools, including Bradley University. He is a
decorated war hero who was among the millions of young soldiers who
turned the tide against tyranny and oppression in Europe during
World War II. He then went on to serve 38 years in Congress,
eventually becoming the House Republican leader. He also is a
wonderful family man, sharing almost 55 years of marriage with his
college sweetheart, the late Corinne Michel, and helping to raise a
daughter and three sons.
As an infantryman with the 39th Regiment of the 9th Infantry
Division, Michel fought from the beaches of Normandy to the heart of
Germany. He landed at Utah Beach on D-Day plus four, June 10, 1944,
and slogged his way through hedgerows and farm fields, small towns
and river crossings, from France, through Belgium and into Germany.
His story is even more amazing when one realizes he was an
"old-timer," someone who made it from D-Day activities all the way
to the Battle of the Bulge. It was during the Bulge that he was
wounded by machine gun fire. For his valor and service, he received
two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, a Presidential Unit Citation and
four Battle Stars. He was honorably discharged in 1946 as a disabled
veteran and then moved back to his hometown and into another realm
of public service: politics.
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After working as a congressional aide, he was elected
representative from the 18th District of Illinois in 1956. For 19
terms he served with distinction as the congressman for the people
of central Illinois, all the while garnering a reputation for
civility, fairness, honesty... and a little singing along the way.
He became House Republican leader in 1980, serving in that position
for 14 years. He advanced the legislative agendas for Presidents
Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and served as the loyal
opposition for the first two years of President Bill Clinton's term.
Michel has received some prestigious honors over the years, but
two of these stand out among the rest. In 1994, President Clinton
awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation's highest
honor given to a civilian. And just last year, in recognition of his
participation in the liberation of France, Michel was named Knight
of the Legion of Honor by French President Jacques Chirac.
Given his background as a wounded veteran of World War II, Michel
has always been a champion for our nation's veterans. He made the
Peoria VA clinic a reality through his work to secure funding for
the facility.
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