TOPEKA (Kan.) -- On Saturday, fellow Kansans celebrated Bob Dole. Dole was a strong partisan leader who could still work with political opponents and a patriot who was tough but kind. He also became "the greatest of all the Greatest Generation."
Dole's final journey to Kansas was for the memorial services at Russell, his hometown in western Kansas, and at Topeka's Statehouse. Dole was recognized for his military service in World War II, which left him severely injured, and for his distinguished political career.
Former elected officials of both parties stated that Dole lived up to the motto "To the stars through difficult times" and was always willing to help others.
He didn't hide during times of crisis. During the Statehouse event, former U.S. Rep. Jim Slattery (a Kansas Democrat) said that he looked for solutions. Bob was the toughest man that I knew. But he also had a tender heart.
Dole, 98, died Sunday after a lifetime serving the country. This included almost 36 years as a member of Congress and running for the Republican nomination for president in 1996. U.S. Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell served over a decade in the Senate with Dole and then surpassed Dole as longest-serving GOP leader. He also attended both Kansas events.
The Saturday events started with a public viewing and memorial service at Russell's Roman Catholic Church. Russell is a small town located 240 miles (386 km) west of Kansas City, where Dole grew up during World War II. Speaking at Saturday's state capital event, speakers noted that Dole began his career in elective office in the Kansas House in early 1950s.
Both dignitaries were represented by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran (both Kansas Republican U.S. Senators) and former GOP U.S. Senators. Pat Roberts, Nancy Kassebaum Baker.
Kelly stated in remarks at Dole's hometown, that Russell was "where he roots run deepest." Local dignitaries wore dark, formal business attire and mixed with residents in more casual farm clothes, a KWCH TV livestream showed.
Kelly stated, "As we gather today to salute our state’s most favorite of favourite sons and the greatest generation, we pause for immense gratitude on what Bob Dole's lives meant to Kansas, Kansans and the rest of the world,"
Dole, who is known for his sarcastic wit and sometimes turning on himself, was also honored at a Washington National Cathedral service. The speakers included President Joe Biden. A tribute was paid at the Washington World War II Memorial -- a memorial to Dole's generation, which he helped to build.
Dole was a congressman who could cross partisan lines to pass legislation like the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, which aimed to prevent discrimination on the grounds of disability. Moran in Russell attributed Dole's ability to bridge partisan divides to his ties to Russell, where people who disagree with him on politics still mix daily.
Kelly called on her Statehouse audience "to pledge ourselves to be more like Bob Dole" and also appealed to civility in politics.
Moran said, "Think about all the things that he's gone through and how much hope had to have been so important to him life to get through each day."
Arlington National Cemetery will be Dole's final resting place. However, Dole's casket was flown to Salina, Kansas on Friday evening and then moved 70 miles (113 km) west to his hometown of childhood, which now houses approximately 4,400 people.
Russell was able to prosper while Dole was growing up. The first well was drilled in his hometown in 1923, the same year he was born. Russell was based on Dole's 1996 speech in which he accepted the nomination for the presidency. Dole stated that "the first thing you find out about the prairie is the relative size and lay of the land."
Moran stated that his family and the community had endured the Dust Bowl of Great Depression. "In Russell you could feel the difficulties, the obstacles, and the barriers that were placed in people's lives. It was not easy.
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