Brookfield Police Chief Montgomery Chosen for CT Veterans Hall of Fame

Brookfield Police Chief and former U.S. Marine Robin Montgomery is one of 10 veterans being honored as 2013 inductees to the Connecticut Veterans Hall of Fame at a ceremony set for Nov. 1.

Montgomery was selected for his record of service in the Vietnam War — during which he was awarded the Navy Cross and two Purple Hearts — as well as his efforts to help the children of fallen comrades through the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation.

The Foundation, for which Montgomery served as a former director and helped establish in 1995, began as a means of providing college assistance to the children of Marines or federal law enforcement agents killed on duty.

The fund has since raised and distributed over $60 million worth of aid, expanding its focus to include all military personnel and law enforcement officers, as well as the children of the victims of the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

“Some of us thought this was a way to get funds directly to the kids without all the procedure,” Montgomery said Wednesday, explaining that the funds were often given out in the form of college-savings bonds.

After Vietnam, Montgomery served as an FBI Special Agent before moving to Brookfield in 1997 and being appointed to Chief of Police in 2000.  

“This is a great honor, particularly not being a native of Connecticut,” Montgomery said. “And it’s great that it highlights not just the military aspect but the community aspect, as well.”

Montgomery is also a member of the Brookfield Lions Club and a life member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.