As a former Senator, Bob Dole, who served the United States for 79 years, survived life-threatening wounds in World War II, and was the 1996 Republican nominee for president, has died at the age of 98.
Former Senator, GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole passes
The Elizabeth Dole foundation issued a statement that former Senator and GOP presidential candidate, Bob Dole, who died in his sleep on Sunday:
“It is with heavy hearts we announce that Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep,” the foundation wrote. “At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years.”
Bob Dole’s family also issued a statement:
“Bob Dole never forgot where he came from. He embodied the integrity, humor, compassion and unbounded work ethic of the wide-open plains of his youth,” his family said in a statement. “He was a powerful voice for pragmatic conservatism, and it was that unique Kansan combination of attributes and values that made him such a giant of the Senate.”
Last February, Dole revealed he was starting treatment after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, NBC reported.
President Biden issues statement
President Joe Biden had a decades-long friendship with former Senator Dole, described him as a man with “an unerring sense of integrity and honor.” Throughout their careers, both men worked on opposite sides of the aisle.
“Bob was an American statesman like few in our history,” Biden said. “A war hero and among the greatest of the Greatest Generation.”
“And to me, he was also a friend whom I could look to for trusted guidance or a humorous line at just the right moment to settle frayed nerves,” Biden added.
Biden also reached out following Dole’s cancer diagnosis, saying he wanted to offer the same support Dole offered him after his late son, Beau, was diagnosed.
“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,” Biden recalled. “I saw in his eyes the same light, bravery, and determination I’ve seen so many times before.”
Bob Dole: A legacy of service to the US
Robert Joseph Dole was born in Russell, Kansas on July 22, 1923.
Dole served as a U.S. Army officer in World War II, where he received life-threatening injuries that left doubt if he would survive. His right arm was permanently disabled, ABC reported. Following the war, he graduated from college, and while still in law school, he won a seat in the Kansas state legislature.
Dole won a seat in Congress in 1960, continuing to serve in the House until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1968.
Senator Dole ran for president three times. He lost the Republican primary in 1980 to Ronald Reagan and in 1988 to George H.W. Bush. In 1996, Dole won the Republican Party nomination and lost to Bill Clinton in the national election.
