John David Melcher (September 6, 1924 – April 12, 2018) was an American politician of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

who represented Montana as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and as a United States Senator from 1977 until 1989.

Early life

Melcher was born in Sioux City, Iowa; his paternal grandparents were from Germany. He attended the University of Minnesota before joining the military. He served in the United States Army during World War II, and participated in the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

with the 76th Infantry Division in Europe during World War II. He was wounded in action in Germany and awarded the Purple Heart,

Combat Infantryman's Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

and the Bronze Star. Melcher married Ruth Klein in 1945. They had six children. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1950. Later he moved to Forsyth, Montana, and established a veterinary clinic.

Political career

Melcher served on the Forsyth City Council. He then served as mayor of Forsyth in 1955, for three terms. In 1960, he was elected to the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House :''67th Legislature – 2021� ...

for Rosebud County. In 1962, he was elected to the

Montana Senate The Montana Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years. Composition of the Senate :''67th Legislature – 2021–202 ...

. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives by special election on June 24, 1969, to fill a vacancy created when the incumbent, Republican

James F. Battin James Franklin Battin (February 13, 1925 – September 27, 1996) was a Republican United States Representative from Montana, and later was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana. Educatio ...

, resigned to accept an appointment to the Federal bench. Melcher was re-elected to the three succeeding Congresses and served from June 24, 1969, to January 3, 1977. In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, he was elected to the United States Senate to succeed retiring Democratic Senator Mike Mansfield. Melcher was re-elected in 1982 against Republican

Larry R. Williams Larry Richard Williams (born October 6, 1942) is an American author, stock and commodity trader, and 1970s–80s political candidate in the state of Montana. He is the father of actress Michelle Williams. Early life Williams was born on October ...

. Melcher had been targeted by

National Conservative Political Action Committee The National Conservative Political Action Committee (NCPAC; pronounced "nick-pack"), based in Alexandria, Virginia, was a New Right political action committee in the United States that was a major contributor to the ascendancy of conservative Repu ...

(NCPAC) as potentially vulnerable, and he was subjected to attack ads depicting him as "too liberal for Montana". Melcher's response became a classic of campaign advertising, featuring a shot of an "out-of-stater" carrying a briefcase full of money, followed by a conversation among several cows deploring their intervention in the race. His campaign for re-election in 1988 was unsuccessful; he was defeated by Republican

Conrad Burns Conrad Ray Burns (January 25, 1935 – April 28, 2016) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Montana and later was a lobbyist. He was only the second Republican popularly elected to represent Montana in the Senate ...

. Melcher attributed the loss to a lack of time spent campaigning. A wilderness management bill he co-sponsored was vetoed by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

only days before the 1988 election. Melcher was a candidate in the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Senate election, but lost to Jack Mudd in the primary.

Political positions and legislative contributions

Melcher had generally liberal views on environmental issues, but was pro-life and supported prayer in public schools. He was a co-sponsor of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, which regulated coal strip mining. Melcher was responsible in 1984 for an amendment to the Animal Welfare Act that required psychological well-being to be protected in primate research. This legislation was praised by Jane Goodall, and in 1987 he was the presenter to her of the Schweitzer Medal of the Animal Welfare Institute.

Later life

After serving in the Senate, Melcher worked as a lobbyist for multiple organizations, including the

American Veterinary Medical Association The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), founded in 1863, is a not-for-profit association representing more than 99,500 veterinarians in the US. The AVMA provides information resources, continuing education opportunities, publicatio ...

. Melcher died on April 12, 2018, in Missoula, Montana, at the age of 93.

References

External links

John Melcher Interviews Oral History Project
(University of Montana Archives) * * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Melcher, John 1924 births 2018 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American people of German descent American veterinarians Male veterinarians Iowa State University alumni Montana city council members Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Montana Democratic Party United States senators from Montana Mayors of places in Montana Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Military personnel from Iowa Democratic Party Montana state senators People from Rosebud County, Montana Politicians from Sioux City, Iowa United States Army soldiers University of Minnesota alumni Candidates in the 1994 United States elections Members of Congress who became lobbyists