Hershel W. Gober

Hershel Wayne Gober

Acting United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
In office July 25, 2000^[1] – January 20, 2001^[2]
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Togo D. West, Jr.
Succeeded by	Anthony Principi
In office July 1, 1997^[3] – January 2, 1998^[4]
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Jesse Brown
Succeeded by	Togo D. West, Jr. (acting)
United States Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs
In office February 4, 1993^[1] – August 10, 2000^[5]
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Anthony J. Principi
Succeeded by	Leo Mackay, Jr.
Director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs
In office January 4, 1988^[2] – February 4, 1993^[2]
Preceded by	Grady Brown^[6]
Succeeded by	Nick Bacon^[6]
Personal details
Born	December 21, 1936 (1936-12-21) (age 75)^[1]^[2] Monticello, Arkansas^[1]^[2]
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Mary Lou Keener^[1]
Alma mater	Alaska Methodist University^[1]
Profession	Soldier, Public servant
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army^[1] United States Marine Corps^[1]
Battles/wars	Vietnam War^[1]
Awards	Purple Heart^[1] Bronze Star^[1] Soldier's Medal^[1]

Hershel Wayne Gober (born December 21, 1936^[2]) is a former government official and Vietnam War veteran. He served as acting United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) on two occasions during the administration of Bill Clinton. The first occasion to serve as Acting Secretary was from July 1, 1997^[3] until January 2, 1998^[4] between the resignation of Secretary Jesse Brown and the appointment of Togo D. West, Jr. as Acting Secretary. The second time to serve as Acting Secretary came on July 25, 2000^[1] and lasted until January 20, 2001^[2] after the resignation of Secretary West; this time Gober served in the post until the end of the Clinton presidency.

He started out in the VA as Deputy Secretary, serving from February 4, 1993^[1] until August 10, 2000.^[5] Gober was also briefly Secretary-designate, when Clinton named him on July 31, 1997^[7] to replace Jesse Brown. However, the nomination was withdrawn before Senate action on October 27 the same year.^[7] This happened because of fears nomination hearings for Gober would become heated due to questions about a 1993 claim of sexual misconduct made against him;^[8] he also wished to stay as Deputy Secretary.^[9]

During his tenure Gober played an important role in the Clinton (to whom he was a close and longtime aide^[3]) era VA. He headed a delegation traveled to Vietnam to seek the fullest possible accounting of missing veterans.^[10] He was also active in improving health care and expanding clinics for veterans.^[10]

Before serving in the VA, Gober was Director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs from January 4, 1988^[2] to February 4, 1993^[2] during President Clinton's tenure as Governor.^[11]

In Vietnam

Gober served two tours in Vietnam.^[1] In addition to his combat duties, at one point he worked with an American/Vietnamese team that produced songs to help sway Vietnamese public opinion in favor of the American and South Vietnamese causes as and to encourage the leadership in Washington to favor reaching the hearts and minds of the Vietnamese people. Later, in 1969, he was wounded while serving as a company commander.^[12]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o US Department of Veterans Affairs. The Honorable Hershel W. Gober. July 2000. Accessed 2008-01-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ DeArmond-Huskey, Rebecca. Monticello (Drew County). Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 2007-07-03. Accessed 2008-01-15.
^ ^a ^b ^c Staff reporter. Veterans Affairs Chief Steps Down After Four Years. 1997-06-07. CNN. Accessed 2008-01-15. "Veterans Affairs Secretary Jesse Brown plans to leave his post July 1, and President Bill Clinton accepted the resignation Saturday "with deep regret."
^ ^a ^b "President Clinton Names Togo D. West, Jr. As Acting Secretary Of The Department Of Veterans' Affairs" (Press release). White House. 1997-12-02. http://clinton6.nara.gov/1997/12/1997-12-02-togo-west-named-acting-secretary-at-veterans-affairs.html. Retrieved 2008-01-15. "The President today announced the appointment of Togo D. West, Jr., as Acting Secretary of Veterans' Affairs; the appointment will be effective January 2, 1998."
^ ^a ^b "Ned Powell Named Acting VA Deputy Secretary" (Press release). US Department of Veterans Affairs. 2000-08-10. http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=207. Retrieved 2008-01-15. "President Clinton has appointed Edward A. (Ned) Powell, Jr., as the Acting Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Powell, currently VAs Assistant Secretary for Financial Management, will fill the position held by Hershel W. Gober, who was named Acting VA Secretary."
^ ^a ^b Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs (2009). "History". http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0194049.html. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
^ ^a ^b U.S. Senate. Chapter 10: Cabinet Nominations Rejected or Withdrawn Accessed December 24, 2007.
^ Rosenbaum, David E. Clinton Withdraws Nomination For Secretary of Veterans Affairs. New York Times. 1997-10-25. Accessed 2007-12-25. "In confirmation hearings, the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs intended to explore circumstances surrounding the exoneration of Mr. Gober after he was accused of sexual misconduct in 1993, a Congressional staff member said tonight."
^ Rosenbaum, David E. Clinton Withdraws Nomination For Secretary of Veterans Affairs. New York Times. 1997-10-25. Accessed 2007-12-25. "Mr. Gober said he preferred to remain as Deputy Secretary, and Mr. Clinton said he regretted Mr. Gober's decision not to pursue the nomination."
^ ^a ^b Clinton, Bill. Remarks by the President, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo West, and Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Hershel Gober. July 10, 2000. Accessed 2007-12-25. " A few years ago, I was honored that he agreed to head a delegation back to Vietnam to seek the fullest possible accounting of our men and women still missing in uniform. Hershel has already made his mark on the critical issue of veterans' health care. Early in our administration, he came to me and recommended that we look for ways to bring health care closer to the veterans who needed it. Since then, we've opened more than 200 out-patient clinics all across America and have more planned this year. That's one of the big reasons we were able to treat -- listen to this -- 400,000 more veterans last year than we did the year before."
^ "President Clinton Names Hershel Gober as Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs" (Press release). White House. 1997-07-03. http://clinton6.nara.gov/1997/07/1997-07-03-president-names-gober-secretary-of-veterans-affairs.html. Retrieved 2007-12-25. "Prior to his appointment as Deputy Secretary, he served as State Director of Veterans' Affairs in Arkansas under then-Governor Clinton."
^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7698055.stm Winning hearts and minds in Vietnam

External links

Government offices
Preceded by Togo D. West, Jr.	United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (acting) 2000–2001 1993–1998	Succeeded by Anthony Principi
Preceded by Jesse Brown		Succeeded by Togo D. West, Jr. (acting)
Preceded by Anthony Principi	United States Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs 1993 – 2000	Succeeded by Leo Mackay, Jr.
Preceded by Grady Brown	Director of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs 1988 – 1993	Succeeded by Nick Bacon

United States Secretaries of Veterans Affairs

Derwinski • Brown • West • Gober (acting) • Principi • Nicholson • Peake • Shinseki

Cabinet of President Bill Clinton (1993–2001)

Cabinet

Secretary of State	Warren Christopher (1993 – 1997) • Madeleine Albright (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of the Treasury	Lloyd Bentsen (1993 – 1994) • Robert Rubin (1995 – 1999) • Lawrence Summers (1999 – 2001)

Secretary of Defense	Les Aspin (1993 – 1994) • William Perry (1994 – 1997) • William Cohen (1997 – 2001)

Attorney General	Janet Reno (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of the Interior	Bruce Babbitt (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of Agriculture	Mike Espy (1993 – 1994) • Dan Glickman (1995 – 2001)

Secretary of Commerce	Ron Brown (1993 – 1996) • Mickey Kantor (1996 – 1997) • William Daley (1997 – 2000) • Norman Mineta (2000 – 2001)

Secretary of Labor	Robert Reich (1993 – 1997) • Alexis Herman (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of Health and Human Services	Donna Shalala (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of Education	Richard Riley (1993 – 2001)

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development	Henry Cisneros (1993 – 1997) • Andrew Cuomo (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of Transportation	Federico Peña (1993 – 1997) • Rodney Slater (1997 – 2001)

Secretary of Energy	Hazel O'Leary (1993 – 1997) • Federico Peña (1997 – 1998) • Bill Richardson (1998 – 2001)

Secretary of Veterans Affairs	Jesse Brown (1993 – 1997) • Togo West (1998 – 2000) • Hershel Gober* (2000 – 2001)

acting secretary.

Cabinet-level

Vice President	Al Gore (1993 – 2001)

White House Chief of Staff	Mack McLarty (1993 – 1994) • Leon Panetta (1994 – 1997) • Erskine Bowles (1997 – 1998) • John Podesta (1998 – 2001)

Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency	Carol Browner (1993 – 2001)

Ambassador to the United Nations	Madeleine Korbel Albright (1993 – 1997) • Bill Richardson (1997 – 1998) • Richard Holbrooke (1999 – 2001)

Director of the Office of Management and Budget	Leon Panetta (1993 – 1994) • Alice Rivlin (1994 – 1996) • Franklin Raines (1996 – 1998) • Jacob Lew (1998 – 2001)

Director of National Drug Control Policy	Lee Brown (1993 – 1995) • Barry McCaffrey (1996 – 2001)

Trade Representative	Mickey Kantor (1993 – 1997) • Charlene Barshefsky (1997 – 2001)

Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency	James Lee Witt (1993 – 2001)*

Director of Central Intelligence	John Deutch (1995 – 1996) • George Tenet (1997–2001)

Administrator of the Small Business Administration	Erskine Bowles (1993 - 1994) • Philip Lader (1994 – 1997) • Aída Álvarez (1997–2001)

took office in 1993, raised to cabinet-rank in 1996

Persondata
Name	Gober, Hershel Wayne
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 21, 1936
Place of birth	Monticello, Arkansas
Date of death
Place of death