December 21, 1936

Hershel Wayne Gober, who became the highest-ranking federal government official from southeast Arkansas, was born at Monticello (Drew County). Gober served in the military for ten years, retiring as a major in 1978. He was appointed by Governor Bill Clinton to serve as director of Veterans Affairs for Arkansas in January 1988 and served until February 1993, when he resigned to go to Washington DC because President Bill Clinton had appointed him deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He served as acting secretary in 1997 and again in 2000. In that capacity, he became a member of the president’s cabinet.