Joe M. Kilgore

Joe Madison Kilgore (born December 10, 1918 in Brownwood , Texas , † February 10, 1999 in Austin , Texas) was an American politician . He represented the state of Texas as a member of the US House of Representatives .

Career

Joe Kilgore briefly attended public school in Rising Star . Afterward, his family moved to Mission in Hidalgo County in 1929 . There he attended public school and Westmoreland College (now Trinity University ) in San Antonio between 1935 and 1936.

Kilgore suspended his law degree from the University of Texas in July 1941 and enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps . There he served as a fighter pilot in combat missions in the Mediterranean . He then retired in 1945 with the rank of lieutenant colonel (Lieutenant Colonel) from the army. During the war he was awarded the Silver Star , the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with two "oak leaf clusters".

politics

Kilgore's grave in Austin

After retiring from the army, he returned to the University of Texas Law School. He was admitted to the bar in 1946 and then opened a practice in Edinburgh . He was then a member of the House of Representatives from Texas from 1947 to 1954 . He was also a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1956, 1960 and 1968. He was elected as a Democrat in the 84th and four subsequent Congresses. His term of office lasted from January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1965. In 1964 he decided not to run for the 89th Congress. Kilgore returned to his old practice as a lawyer. During his tenure in Congress, he refused to sign the Southern Manifesto , which spoke out against racial integration in public institutions.

Joe Kilgore died in Austin on February 10, 1999. He was buried in Texas State Cemetery .

Web links

• Joe M. Kilgore in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)