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Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Senator Bob Dole
Senator Bob Dole receiving the Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton
Presidential Medal of Freedom Citation:
Shortly after the 1996 election, President Clinton presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom Citation to Senator Bob Dole.
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The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in Government. The President awards it to those individuals who have made meritorious contributions to the security or national interest of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
The text of the citation is as follows:
"From foreign battlefields to the halls of Congress, Bob Dole has served his country with courage, dedication, and grace.
Overcoming his own adversity, he rose to become a champion for the disabled and America's farmers, for preserving Social Security and promoting fiscal responsibility, and for strengthening our global leadership for freedom, peace, and prosperity.
A man of the heartland, he brought common sense, uncommon skill, and a prairie wit to the United States Senate, where he was the longest serving Republican leader in history.
Soldier, statesman, and patriot, Bob Dole has created a record of achievement that will stand forever as a tribute to the strengths and values that have made America great."
President Clinton today awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to Bob Dole. In his speech after the award, Senator Dole said "our challenge is not to question American ideals or to replace them, but to act worthy of them." At the same ceremony today at the White House, Mr. Clinton unveiled the winning design for the World War Two Memorial to be constructed on the National Mall in Washington. (4:00)
President Clinton presented his former opponent with the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the nation's highest civilian award. Dole, upon accepting the award, said, "I, Robert J. Dole . . . do solemnly swear . . . " As the assembled crowd burst into laughter, Dole deadpanned, "Sorry, wrong speech." Robert J. Dole: Biography
Robert Joseph Dole, political leader and statesman, of Russell, Kansas was born in Russell on July 22, 1923, the eldest son of Doran R. and Bina Talbott Dole. He wed Mary Elizabeth Hanford, December 6, 1975, and has one daughter, Robin, from a previous marriage.
Dole is a graduate of Russell public schools. He attended the University of Kansas, Lawrence, entering in the fall of 1941. He received an A.B. and LL.B from Washburn Municipal University in 1952.
Dole entered active duty in the U.S. Army in June 1943, after completing his sophomore year at the University of Kansas. He served five and one-half years in World War II and was a 10th Mountain Division platoon leader in the Allied liberation of Northern Italy. Twice wounded and twice decorated for "heroic achievement," Dole was discharged with the rank of Captain, in July 1948, having convalesced for three years from grave wounds sustained in combat.
Dole was elected to the Kansas Legislature in 1950 and served in the House of Representatives from 1951 to 1953. He was elected to four consecutive terms as Russell County Attorney, 1952 to 1960. In 1960, Dole was elected to the US House of Representatives and reelected in 1962, 1964, and 1966. He was elected to the US Senate in 1968 and was reelected in 1974, 1980, 1986, and 1992. His distinguished career in the US House and Senate includes, among many assignments, long standing service as a member of the House and Senate committees on agriculture, and Chair, Senate Finance Committee. In 1984, he was elected Senate majority leader, and thereafter served four consecutive Congresses as Senate Republican leader, until he retired from the Senate in 1996 to seek the GOP nomination for the Presidency.
Dole was the Republican candidate for President of the US in 1996, and Republican candidate for Vice President in 1976. He served as Republican National Committee chairman from 1971 to 1973. Among numerous distinguished appointments, Dole has been advisor, US Delegation to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 1965, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979; member, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 1977; member, National Commission on Social Security Reform, 1983; member, US National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 1970, 1973; advisor, US Delegation to Study the Arab Refugee Problem, 1967; and advisor, President's Delegation to Study the Food Crisis in India, 1966.
In addition to his vigorous law practice in the nation's capital, Dole maintains a strong commitment to public service. Among several roles, he is National Chairman of the World War II Memorial Campaign. He chairs the International Commission for Missing Persons investigating ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia. He also serves as President of the influential Federal City Council in Washington, D.C. Among the honors he has been accorded, he is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the nation's highest honor for distinguished service, the American Legion's prestigious Distinguished Service Medal, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Teddy Roosevelt Award. He continues to serve as Chairman of the Board of The Dole Foundation, which he established in 1983 to advance educational and workforce opportunities for the disabled. The Robert Dole Scholarship Fund for Disabled Students has recently been established in his honor at the United Negro College Fund.
A Kansas native with strong ties to his state, Dole's career in public service reaches from World War II through the close of the century.
For additional information visit the Official Bob Dole Website
July 22, 2003
Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics Dedicated
Associated Links
Dole Institute
Schedule of Dole Institute Dedication Events
By CARL MANNING
Associated Press Writer
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Bob Dole got a special present for his 80th birthday Tuesday, a political institute bearing his name.
And a U.S. senator and Medal of Honor recipient led some 6,000 spectators in singing "Happy Birthday" to the former Kansas senator and 1996 Republican presidential nominee.
The four-day celebration surrounding the dedication of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas has focused on Dole's fellow World War II veterans.
Among dignitaries praising Dole was former President Jimmy Carter, who said, "My respect for Bob Dole as a leader of heroes in peace and wartime has never been shaken."
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, representing the White House, called Dole "one of the Greatest Generation's highest achievers."
Others sharing the stage with Dole included his wife, Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina; former Sens. George McGovern of North Dakota and Nancy Kassebaum Baker of Kansas and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
When he spoke, Dole quickly shifted the focus to the scores of veterans at the ceremony.
Dole called Medal of Honor recipient Jack Lucas to the stage from his front-row seat. He said Lucas wanted to meet Carter but the veteran didn't think it would happen.
"I just cut out five minutes of my speech and that makes everybody happy," Dole quipped.
Lucas and Carter embraced and Dole invited the veteran to take a chair onstage.
At the end of the ceremony Lucas, 75, of Hattiesburg, Miss., and Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., led the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday" to Dole.
Serving in World War II, Dole was gravely wounded in Italy, leaving his right arm all but unusable despite years of therapy. That forced him to switch his focus from medicine to law and politics.
To the veterans, Dole said, "This is your day. This is the America of your making -- freer, fairer, more diverse and more truly democratic."
Established in 1997, the institute's goal is to encourage student participation and citizen involvement in public service. Dole offered some advice for students who will be using the institute.
"Fashion your own miracles, even as you confront your own challenges," Dole said. "Remember that the greatness of America lies, not in the power of her government, but in the goodness of her people."
World War II veteran Edwin Turner, 78, of Lawrence said he attended Tuesday's ceremony to support Dole and "what he believes in."
After the ceremony, held under blue skies in temperatures in the 70s, Dole attended a private birthday party at the institute with family and friends.
Inside the institute are nearly 1,000 8-by-10 photographs of Kansas who served in World War II. Nearby, in front of a large stained-glass window of the American flag, is a display featuring Dole's Army uniform, dog tags and Purple Heart medal.
Dole said he spent more than 35 years as a congressman and senator, but added, "Yet no honor that has come my way has ever surpassed the pride I felt wearing my country's uniform."
The dedication ended a celebration that began Saturday afternoon with numerous events, including a Memory Tent where veterans, including Medal of Honor recipients, Doolittle Raiders, Tuskegee Airmen and Navajo Code Talkers, told their stories.
On Monday, 15 World War II planes, including B-17s and P-51 Mustangs, flew over the university campus in tribute to the veterans. That night, there was show also paying tribute to them.
Construction began in 2001 on the $11-million, 28,000 square-foot institute, financed mainly from private donations. It also houses more than 4,000 boxes of Dole's papers from his years as a congressman and U.S. senator.
http://www.ljworld.com/section/archive/story/139486
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
Charles Murray Jr. enjoys himself during the Memory Tent panel feting Medal of Honor recipients. Murray was awarded the nation's highest military honor for his heroism in World War II killing and capturing a combined 31 Germans before he was wounded by a grenade.
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
Former Sen. Bob Dole points out the Medal of Honor worn by Robert Maxwell, Bend, Ore. "Now there's a hero," Dole said as he and Maxwell joined other World War II veterans and dignitaries Monday at a luncheon at the Circle S Ranch north of Lawrence. Maxwell grew up in Quinter. The largest gathering in years of Medal of Honor recipients -- 15 -- showed for events surrounding the Dole Institute of Politics dedication. Eleven of them attended a Memory Tent presentation Monday morning at the Dole Institute.
Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo
Medal of Honor recipient Jack Lucas, Hattiesburg, Miss., left, signs an autograph for Ian Burrow, 10, of Kansas City, Kan. Lucas, who earned his medal for heroism at Iwo Jima, was a member on the panel at a Memory Tent discussion by Medal of Honor recipients Monday in conjunction with the Dole Institute of Politics dedication.
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Medal History
