Statesman Dole deserves recognition

I was delighted to read in the Sept. 6 Daily Herald that former Sen. Bob Dole is being presented with the Congressional Gold Medal. He has long been a hero of mine. To my way of thinking, he gained hero status in the early 1940s. He served in WWII. All WWII vets are heroes of mine; they made it possible for me to grow up in the Boy Scouts, not the Hitler Youth. As all scholars of WWII know, in the dark years of the 20th Century, the Axis Powers had a dream of world domination, and they seemed to have the wherewithal to achieve that goal. Bob Dole, like millions of others, answered the call to keep us safe.

Bob Dole's courageous fight in recovering from shrapnel wounds sustained while leading troops in Italy made him even more of a hero. And his service to our nation in Congress and the Senate enhanced his status. So, in 1996 when he ran for U.S. president, I was honored to help spearhead his campaign in the Northwest suburbs, meeting Sen. Dole several times. He had a wonderful, self-deprecating sense of humor, a quick wit, an analytic mind and, I thought, the correct position on political issues. He wanted to be the last of the Greatest Generation to serve as president, and I wanted to see that also. Unfortunately, that did not come to pass.

So, at age 94, Bob Dole is receiving the highest honor the U.S. government can award for "his service to the nation as a soldier, legislator, and statesman," according to the Daily Herald. I was particularly impressed that the story included the word "statesman." Not many in government today deserve that title. James Freeman Clarke wrote, "A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation," which is, I think, a fitting tribute for Bob Dole.

Wayne H. Wagner

Arlington Heights