Metro East Sun

Rep. Mike Bost (R-Carbondale) is remembering former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole as “the best the U.S. has to offer.”

Just four months after announcing he’d been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer, Dole died in his sleep earlier this month. He was 98.  

A World War II veteran, Dole overcame disabling war injuries to serve nearly four decades in the Senate and to ultimately emerge as a Republican candidate for president to face President Bill Clinton in 1996.

“As a member of the Greatest Generation & statesman, he dedicated his life to serving the nation he loved,” Bost posted on Twitter. “I was honored to meet him many times & work w/him & his wife, Senator Elizabeth Dole, on behalf of our nation’s vets. Tracy and I send our prayers to the Dole family and his friends during this challenging time.”

During his time on Capitol Hill, Dole earned a reputation as one of the most influential legislators and party leaders in the Senate, balancing willingness for compromise with a caustic wit that knew few barriers. On the legislative side, he became known for shaping policy, foreign policy, farm and nutrition programs and rights for the disabled.

Dole made three runs at the White House before turning his later years to the cause of wounded veterans, their fallen comrades at Arlington National Cemetery and remembrance of the fading generation of World War II vets. In 2005, he published a memoir about his wartime experiences and recovery, “One Soldier’s Story.”

Dole began his political career while a student at Washburn University, winning a seat in the Kansas House. After first being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968, Dole went on to be re-elected four different times. 

In 2017, Congress voted to award the veteran lawmaker its highest expression of appreciation for distinguished contributions to the nation, a Congressional Gold Medal. That came a decade after he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Two years later, Congress again moved to honor Dole by promoting him from Army captain to colonel, in recognition of the military service that earned him two Purple Hearts.

After the announcement of Dole’s death, President Joe Biden recalled in a statement that one of his first meetings outside the White House after being sworn-in as president was with the Doles at their Washington home.

“Like all true friendships, regardless of how much time has passed, we picked up right where we left off, as though it were only yesterday that we were sharing a laugh in the Senate dining room or debating the great issues of the day, often against each other, on the Senate floor,” he said. “I saw in his eyes the same light, bravery, and determination I’ve seen so many times before.”

In Dole’s honor, the president later ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff at the White House and all public buildings and grounds.