2:19 p.m. ET, December 10, 2021
Sen. Bob Dole is being honored at the World War II Memorial, a monument he helped build
A ceremony in honor of late Sen. Bob Dole
is taking place at the national World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.
Actor Tom Hanks and Savannah Guthrie of NBC's "Today" delivered remarks, and former North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole, the late senator's wife, will lay a wreath in honor of her late husband.
"This memorial stands in this rightful site because Bob Dole remembered," Hanks said with the memorial behind him. "He remembered the nearly half a million souls who unlike him, never came home from the second World War. He remembered the years of service the surviving Americans had invested. Yet, this memorial was not built only for the generation it honors any more than it was erected to crow of their victory."
Dole was a World War II veteran who enlisted in the Army in 1942 at the age of 19 and was seriously wounded while trying to carry a fellow soldier to safety. He would go on to spend 39 grueling months in and out of hospitals, recuperating from his near-fatal injuries, which left his right arm permanently disabled and his left arm minimally functional.
"Bob Dole called this a memorial to peace so that all generations would remember that peace is achieved in shared labor, by shared sacrifice, by volunteering for the shared duty if peace is to be won and if we Americans are to continue our pursuit of a more perfect nation if an imperfect world," Hanks continued.
Hanks said that Dole "came to this plaza often, to remember" and talk with "veterans like himself."
Dole, who advocated for the nation's veterans throughout his career, received the Purple Heart twice and two Bronze Stars with an oak leaf cluster for his service in World War II.
His injuries changed the trajectory of his life, leading him to pursue a law degree and a career in politics. He served a term in the Kansas House of Representatives and later for eight years as Russell County prosecutor. Dole was elected to the US House to represent Kansas in Washington in 1960, serving four terms before he was elected to the US Senate in 1968.
After leaving public office, Dole served as the national chairman of the World War II Memorial Campaign, helping to raise millions to construct the first memorial dedicated to all World War II veterans. In his 90s — as one of the longest-living and most prominent members of the Greatest Generation — he spent his Saturdays greeting his fellow veterans as they visited the memorial in Washington after it opened to the public in 2004.
CNN's Maegan Vazquez contributed reporting to this post.