MICHEL, Robert Henry (1923-2017)
Republican of Illinois 
18th congressional district
Served in House 1957-1994
Biography
A Representative from Illinois; born in Peoria, Peoria County, Ill., March 2, 1923; attended the public schools; United States Army, served with the Thirty-ninth Infantry Regiment as a combat infantryman in England, France, Belgium, and Germany, February 10, 1943, to January 26, 1946, participated in the Normandy invasion, wounded by machine gun fire during the Battle of the Bulge; awarded two Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, and four battle stars; B.S., Bradley University, Peoria, Ill., 1948; administrative assistant to Representative Harold Velde, 1949-1956; delegate, Republican National Conventions, 1964-1992; permanent chairman, Republican National Conventions, 1984, 1988, and 1992; elected as a Republican to the Eighty-fifth and to the eighteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1957-January 3, 1995); not a candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Fourth Congress; minority whip (Ninety-fourth through Ninety-sixth Congresses); minority leader (Ninety-seventh through One Hundred Third Congresses); awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President William J. Clinton, 1994; died on February 17, 2017, in Arlington, Va.; interment at Parkview Cemetery, Peoria, Ill.Courtesy of Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
