Advisory Commission members

Mr. Max Cleland - Secretary, American Battle Monuments Commission Secretary Cleland is also a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War where he served as a U.S. Army captain. He was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action. President Obama appointed him as the Secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission in 2009, where he presently manages 24 overseas cemeteries where fallen American service members are memorialized from World War I and World War II.

Lt. Gen. Russell Davis - U.S. Air Force, retired. Davis served as the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard as well as the chief of the National Guard Bureau from 1998 to 2002. He received a Juris Doctorate from Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa and served on active duty from 1958 to 1965.

Mr. Chet Edwards - Representative from Central Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 2010. While in Congress, he was a champion for issues impacting service members, veterans and their families. His dedication to improve services and the welfare of our nation’s veterans is notable by his 2009 legislation which provides full college scholarships for all military children who have lost a parent in service to our nation since September 11, 2001.

Colonel Debra Lopez Fix - U.S. Army, retired. A 1981 graduate of the United States Military Academy, she was the first Hispanic woman to graduate from West Point. A Human Resources Officer, her 30 year career included two tours with the 101st Airborne Division where she was the Division G1. She commanded two battalions in her career, one in Alaska and the other at Fort Benning and the Infantry School. A 9/11 survivor of the Pentagon attack, she received a Purple Heart and her duties took her to Iraq, Kuwait and Germany to set Army-wide personnel policies in support of the war. A former Inspector General officer at Headquarters, Department of the Army, she is married to retired Col. Bob Fix, an Infantry combat veteran. They have two sons and a daughter in law, all active duty paratroopers currently in combat with the 173D Airborne Infantry Brigade in Afghanistan.

Capt. Thomas Kelley - U.S. Navy, retired. Kelley is a Medal of Honor recipient for gallantry in Vietnam in June 1969. Upon retirement from 30 years of active service, he worked as a Department of Defense civilian employee and then was appointed Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services. He was selected by the governor to serve as the Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Veterans’ Services and retired from public service in January 2011.

Mr. James V. Kimsey - U.S. Army, retired. Kimsey is a dedicated and recognized entrepreneur who is also a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served two tours in Vietnam. After honorable military service, he went on to found America Online and the Kimsey Foundation. Kimsey is a former Chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons and currently serves as a member of the board of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and as a Senior Fellow to the Department of Defense Business Board.

Lt. Gen. James Peake - U.S. Army, retired. Peake served as the Army Surgeon General for four years and as the sixth U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs from December 2007 to January 2009. He is a 1966 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as well as a veteran of the Vietnam conflict, receiving a Bronze Star “V” device and Purple Heart. He is a graduate of Cornell Medical School and is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Project Hope.