The past few days have been pleasing in my eyes because every network we watched gave the death of Senator Robert Dole the respect he
deserved. You could say their coverage exemplified Dole’s political career remembered especially for his ability to be bipartisan.
With all the stories about Bob Dole’s political career his miraculous recovery from his injury while leading his platoon, in Italy during World
War II, gets forgotten.
He spent 39 months in military hospitals! At first, it was thought he suffered only from a crushed shoulder, but eventually, it was determined he had a serious spinal cord injury with the prognosis that he might live, but likely never walk again. Dole’s weight was 192 pounds at enlistment but dwindled to 122 pounds during his recovery.
At one point in his recovery, he became ill with a kidney infection. He almost died with his fever reaching 108.7 degrees! It was decided to give him an experimental drug called penicillin. It saved his life.
I cannot claim to have known Bob Dole although I shook his hand several times and voted for him a bunch of times.
Some of my fondest memories were when Dole spoke at Jaycee conventions in Kansas City or Topeka. On those occasions, his speeches
were always laced with quips showing off his famous sense of humor.
Interestingly though, while he was often political in his remarks they were never mean-spirited.
My best example of Senator Dole’s clot occurred in 1983. As a Kansan, I helped my professional organization – The Competitive Long
Distance Association gets a meeting with Dole’s staff to ask the Senator to urge the FCC to change their mind on an issue. He wrote a strong letter in support of our position. It undoubtedly saved my young company.
I’m curious – Is Robert Dole the greatest Kansan of all time? There are some notable candidates like Karl Menninger, James Naismith, Amelia Earhart, and of course President Dwight Eisenhower, but I choose Dole over them all because he represented Kansas throughout his career.
Rest in peace Senator Dole, you earned it!
I’m Steve Sauder
