Dole was hospitalized in November 2012 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, according to then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. [141] But he had not lost his desire to engage closely with the enemy, and he volunteered for an overseas posting. In November 1943 he landed at Bombay after a dangerous voyage on a troopship through the Mediterranean. He was given the task of forming a new Indian Air Force squadron. No 10 IAF Squadron combined a number of nationalities, the majority being Indian. Many of the airmen and aircrew were inexperienced, and Bob had to form them into a fighting unit. This he did very successfully, and in December 1944, the squadron was posted to fight the Japanese over the Burmese jungles in the Arkan campaign. Dole recovered from his wounds at the Percy Jones Army Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. This complex of federal buildings, no longer a hospital, is now named Hart–Dole–Inouye Federal Center in honor of three patients who became United States Senators: Dole, Philip Hart, and Daniel Inouye. Dole was decorated three times, receiving two Purple Hearts for his injuries, and the Bronze Star with "V" Device for valor for his attempt to assist a downed radioman. The injuries left him with limited mobility in his right arm and numbness in his left arm. He minimized the effect in public by keeping a pen in his right hand, and learned to write with his left hand. [16] In 1947, he was medically discharged from the Army as a captain. [17] Early political career Official portrait, 1961 Doe remained in the RAF and, after appointments with the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, was sent to Egypt in May 1950 to command No 32 Squadron, equipped with Vampire jet fighters.He had never flown a jet before, so on his way to the squadron he managed to stop off at a maintenance unit and borrow a Vampire for a few hours to familiarise himself.By the time he left in May 1953, No 32 had built up a reputation for esprit de corps envied by all the other RAF and Army units on the base. Dole, at age 95 and in a wheelchair, stood up with the help of an aide at the funeral of George H. W. Bush in the United States Capitol rotunda on December 4, 2018, and saluted to pay his respects to the late president and fellow World War II veteran. [113] [114]

Maggie Haberman (January 20, 2016). "Bob Dole Warns of 'Cataclysmic' Losses With Ted Cruz, and Says Donald Trump Would Do Better". The New York Times . Retrieved February 9, 2017. Clark, Timothy B. (December 12, 1982). "The Clout of the 'New' Bob Dole". The New York Times Magazine. ISSN 0362-4331 . Retrieved April 22, 2020. While in the Senate, Dole served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1971 to 1973, the ranking Republican on the Agriculture Committee from 1975 to 1978, and the chairman of the Finance Committee from 1981 to 1985. [30] [31] [32] In November 1984, Dole was elected Senate Majority Leader, defeating Ted Stevens 28–25, in the fourth round of balloting. [33] Dole in Emporia, Kansas, 1974. Photo by Patricia DuBose Duncan.Dole eventually won the nomination, becoming the oldest first-time presidential nominee at the age of 73 years, 1 month (President Ronald Reagan was 73 years, 6 months in 1984, for his second presidential nomination). If elected, he would have become the oldest president to take office and the first Kansas native to become president (as Dwight Eisenhower was born in Texas). Dole found the initial draft of the nomination acceptance speech written by Mark Helprin too hardline, so Kerry Tymchuk, who was part of the "'Let Dole be Dole' crowd", revised the speech to cover the themes of honor, decency, and straight talk. It included the following line, a gibe at the all-or-nothing rookie Republicans who had ridden the 1994 midterm GOP wave into Congress: "In politics honorable compromise is no sin. It is what protects us from absolutism and intolerance"'. [59] In February 2021, Dole announced that he had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, [144] and subsequently underwent immunotherapy, forgoing chemotherapy due to its negative effect on his body. [116] He died of complications from the disease in his sleep at his home in Washington, D.C., on the morning of December 5, 2021, at the age of 98. One month before he died, he became the oldest former U.S. representative, following the death of Neal Smith. [145] [146] Two months later he formed No 10 Squadron, Indian Air Force, at Risalpur in the North-West Frontier Province, the last Indian Air Force squadron to be formed during the war.He arrived to find 27 pilots, most of them Indian, about 1,400 men and 16 Hurricanes.The rest was up to him.

Singman, Brooke (September 22, 2017). "Bob Dole hospitalized at Walter Reed". Fox News . Retrieved November 13, 2017. Norwich University Honors U.S. Senator Robert Dole in a Ceremony at the WWII Memorial in D.C. – Office of Communications". Archived from the original on August 26, 2018 . Retrieved August 26, 2018. King, Ledyard (December 10, 2021). "Bob Dole hailed as war hero and 'Kansas' favorite son' at Washington funeral service". USA Today . Retrieved December 10, 2021.

Bob Doe was just 19 when he joined the RAF in 1939. He fought in the Battle of Britain, and flew both Hurricanes and Spitfires. He is recorded as being the third hi Clark, Timothy B. (December 12, 1982). "THE CLOUT OF THE 'NEW' BOB DOLE". The New York Times . Retrieved December 12, 2021. House – August 3, 1965" (PDF). Congressional Record. U.S. Government Printing Office. 111 (14): 19201 . Retrieved February 27, 2022. Allen E. Roberts (1992). Freemasonry in American History. Lists of Lodges. pp.408–410. ISBN 978-0880530781. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link) House – August 27, 1962" (PDF). Congressional Record. U.S. Government Printing Office. 108 (13): 17670 . Retrieved February 27, 2022.

Dole received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards, in 1997. [118] In September he made claims against only 2 109s- both inland (Sheppey and North of Beachy Head) The book Aces High by Shores and Williams incorrectly states 3x claims against 109s on the 4 sept when they were in fact Bf110's. Kolbert, Elizabeth (May 19, 1996). "A Political Life: Dole's Kansas Years". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Desrochers, Daniel (December 9, 2021). "Bob Dole's final resting place announced ahead of services in Washington and Kansas". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved December 9, 2021.Clinton, Bill (January 3, 1996). "Remarks on the Impact of the Budget Impasse and an Exchange With Reporters". Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States. Dole's legacy also includes a commitment to combating hunger, both in the United States and around the globe. In addition to numerous domestic programs, and along with former Senator George McGovern (D-South Dakota), Dole created an international school lunch program through the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which, funded largely through the Congress, helps fight child hunger and poverty by providing nutritious meals to children in schools in developing countries. [82] [83] This internationally popular program would go on to provide more than 22 million meals to children in 41 countries in its first eight years. [84] [85] It has since led to greatly increased global interest in and support for school-feeding programs—which benefit girls and young women, in particular—and won McGovern and Dole the 2008 World Food Prize. [85] In January 1941, while flying a night sortie, the oil in the oil cooler of his aircraft froze. As a result of his engine seizing he landed heavily at Warmwell on the snow-covered runway, breaking his harness and smashing his face against the reflector sight, almost severing his nose and breaking his arm. Doe was taken to Park Prewett Hospital where he underwent 22 operations by pioneering New Zealand plastic surgeon Harold Gillies. (After the war he was invited to join the Guinea Pig Club. [3]) Despite the 1994 elections, President Clinton's popularity soared due to a booming economy and public opinion polls supporting him in the 1995 budget shutdown. As a result, Clinton and Vice President Al Gore faced no serious opposition in the Democratic primaries. [59] A few months before his death in April 1994, Richard Nixon warned Dole, "If the economy's good, you're not going to beat Clinton." [60] Dole was the early front runner for the GOP nomination in the 1996 presidential race. At least eight candidates ran for the nomination. Dole was expected to win the nomination against underdog candidates such as the more conservative Senator Phil Gramm of Texas and more moderate Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Pat Buchanan upset Dole in the early New Hampshire primary, however, with Dole finishing second and former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander finishing third. Speechwriter Kerry Tymchuk observed, "Dole was on the ropes because he wasn't conservative enough." [59] Williams, Jordan (October 9, 2020). "Bob Dole claims no Republicans on debate commission support Trump". The Hill . Retrieved October 9, 2020.

On 10 October, in combat over Warmwell, Dorset with some Bf 109s at 12:00, his plane was critically damaged and he was wounded in the leg and shoulder. Doe bailed out, landing on Brownsea Island while his Hawker Hurricane crashed near Corfe Castle viaduct on what is now part of the Swanage Railway. Admitted to Poole Hospital on 22 October 1940, Doe was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and received a Bar a month later on 26 November. Doe rejoined No. 238 Squadron in December 1940. The 1996 presidential election, despite ending in a loss, opened up numerous opportunities for Dole owing in part to his sense of humor. He engaged in a career of writing, consulting, public speaking, and television appearances. Dole was the first defeated presidential nominee to become a political celebrity. [73] Television appearancesEspo, David (December 15, 1998). "Clinton Losing Moderate Republicans". Associated Press News . Retrieved December 20, 2022. In 1968, Dole defeated former Kansas Governor William H. Avery for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate to succeed retiring Senator Frank Carlson. He subsequently won the seat in the general election. Dole was re-elected in 1974, 1980, 1986, and 1992, before resigning on June 11, 1996, to focus on his presidential campaign. [29] Hailed as the third-highest scoring ace in the Battle of Britain, much was made of his humble beginnings. Bob was the son of a gardener, and left school at an early age with no qualifications. His passion for flying, and the help of a senior officer who recognised his qualities, got Bob into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR). Here, in his spare time from a job as an office boy for the News of the World, he learnt to fly. Robert Francis Thomas Doe was born in Reigate, Surrey, on 10 March 1920. After leaving school he started work as an office boy for the News of the World. Doe joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in March 1938 and made his first solo flight on 4 June 1938. In September 1946 he returned to the UK and held a number of staff positions and commands before retiring on 1 April 1966 with the rank of Wing Commander. [2]