The World War II veteran, senator and presidential candidate died on December 5 at the age of 98.
Bob Dole, a World War II veteran, longtime senator representing Kansas and the GOP presidential nominee in 1996, died Sunday at the age of 98. The Elizabeth Dole Foundation said Dole died early Sunday morning in his sleep. When Dole became the Republican presidential nominee in 1996, it was the high point of more than a half-century in the national spotlight as a congressman, senator, vice-presidential candidate, two-time presidential candidate, national chair of the Republican Party and longtime leader of Senate Republicans. In this August 1, 2000, file photo, Bob Dole salutes after a speech at the Republican National Convention in the First Union Center in Philadelphia. Originally from Russell, Kansas, Dole grew up during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. He was a star athlete in high school who planned to become a doctor, and he enlisted in the Army while at the University of Kansas. An undated photo of Dole in the Army. Dole was so badly injured in World War II that he nearly died twice and lost a kidney to infection. The people of Russell, Kansas, collected money in cigar box for his recovery. The wounds left him unable to use one arm. He worried that he would wind up in a wheelchair selling pencils on the street, and as he later told “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl, his life became a living nightmare. “They got me out of bed one day, and the bathroom door was open,” said Dole. “There was a mirror on the far wall on the shaving cabinet. I couldn’t believe that was Bob Dole. So I didn’t look in the mirror. I still don’t look in the mirror, except to shave.” This is a 1945 file photo of Sen. Bob Dole recuperating from injuries received while serving in Italy during World War II. After serving in the Kansas state legislature, Dole was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1960. Although a Republican, he voted for the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. He won the Senate seat in 1968. A January 5, 1971, file photo of Bob Dole. Dole was a power broker in Washington, and President Richard Nixon named him the Republican National Committee chairman in 1971. In this April 22, 1972, file photo, Dole speaks in Chicago. Dole’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1972. He married Elizaeth Hanford of Salisbury, North Carolina, in December 1975. She would go on to become a Reagan and Bush Cabinet member and eventually a senator herself. Dole posed with his bride-to-be on Saturday, December 6,1975, at a wedding breakfast in Washington.
