robert joseph dole
united states senator
biography
Robert Joseph Dole was born on July 22, 1923 in Russell, Kansas, a small plains town. He grew up with his mother and father, two sisters, Norma Jean and Gloria, and a brother, Kenny, in a small frame house. Bob Dole's father, Doran, ran a cream-and-egg stand and his mother, Bina, sold sewing machines. During the Depression, the Dole family pulled together to get by in the most difficult financial times, and, the Doles moved into the basement of their home and rented out the rest of the house. Young Bob went to work as a soda jerk at Dawson's Drug Store in Russell.
In 1942 at the age of 19, Bob Dole answered the call to serve his country by joining the Army to fight in World War II. He became a second lieutenant in the Army's 10th Mountain Division, and in the Spring of 1943, found himself in the hills of Italy fighting the Nazi Germans. In the middle of heavy shelling, Lieutenant Dole saw his radioman go down, and crawled out of his foxhole to try to rescue the wounded soldier, but he was hit by Nazi machine gun fire. After the battle, medics gave him a shot of morphine and marked his forehead with an "M" written in his own blood, not expected to survive. However, he survived his wounds, although they left him with a shattered right shoulder and paralyzed from the neck down. He was twice decorated for heroic achievement, receiving two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star with Oakleaf Cluster. It took nearly three years and nine operations for Bob Dole to rehabilitate.
The story has almost become legend now: how the people of Russell chipped in money to fill a cigar box at Dawson's Drug store with $1,800 to pay Bob Dole's hospital bills. They kept track of the donations on slips of paper, and Bob Dole still keeps the cigar box and the receipts in his office desk as a permanent reminder of the generosity and love of the people of Russell.
During his four years of recovery, it was clear that he would never realize his boyhood dream of becoming a doctor, so Bob Dole set his sights on a new goal. He planned to study law and look for ways to give back to the people who had done so much for him. In 1952 he earned his law degree from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.
People in his community persuaded him to run for state legislature, and he won. He went on to serve as county attorney, and later United States Congressman. Finally, in 1968, Bob Dole ran for United States Senate and won. In the 1970's, Senator Dole rocketed to national prominence as Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1971. Then, in 1976, President Gerald Ford tapped Senator Dole to be his Vice Presidential running mate. At this time, Bob Dole married Elizabeth Dole, who had been Secretary of Transportation for President Reagan and Secretary of Labor for President Bush. In 1980 and 1988, Dole ran unsuccessfully for President, first against Ronald Reagan, then against George Bush. In 1984, Bob Dole was elected Senate Majority Leader and has remained Republican Leader in the U.S. Senate through the decade and up to today. His greatest accomplishments as Senate Republican Leader include leading the fight for President Reagan's agenda of economic growth and restoration of the American military, supporting President Bush and America's commitment to liberate Kuwait, and working with House Speaker Newt Gingrich to pass a budget that will reduce the size of government and eliminate our deficit in seven years.
Finally, in 1996, Dole was given the Republican presidential nominee, though he was led to a defeat by President Bill Clinton, who seemed destined to win reelection from the start, as the Democratic Party had painted the Republicans as uncaring. Dole showed his desperate attempt to win when he, on the final days of the campaign, asked third party challenger Ross Perot to drop out of the race and endorse him as a candidate.
