Gerald William Heaney (January 29, 1918 – June 22, 2010) served for nearly forty years as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, from his appointment by President Lyndon B. Johnson in November 1966 until his full retirement in August 2006. Heaney’s career in public service began in 1941, upon graduation from law school. He soon enlisted in the United States Army, volunteered for the U.S. Rangers, and soon became a second lieutenant in the 2nd Ranger Battalion. Heaney’s endurance as a judge was foretold by his endurance as a Ranger; of the hundreds of members of the Second Ranger Battalion who landed at Normandy on the early hours of D-Day, Heaney was one of only three still on the front lines with the Rangers on VE Day. Between the end of World War II