[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5422-S5423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           AWARD OF DOD's DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I rise today to say a few words about 
our former colleague and Majority Leader, Senator Robert Dole.
  There are few people who have given more to this Nation than Bob 
Dole. He has dedicated his life to public service. He was a young Army 
officer during World War II, helping to liberate Europe, where as we 
all know, he suffered his lifelong wounds. He served in the Kansas 
State House, in the United States House of Representatives, and 
ultimately in the United States Senate, as Majority Leader, where he 
left his greatest mark. Even though he no longer holds elected office, 
Bob still finds ways to contribute to the public good through a variety 
of efforts, not the least of which is his work on the World War II 
Memorial. He is truly a man who has distinguished himself through his 
selflessness, who has rendered the Nation a great service, and is 
worthy of the respect and admiration of all Americans.
  A few weeks ago, another one of our former colleagues, Secretary of 
Defense William Cohen, made certain that Senator Dole knew the high 
regard in which he is held by the men and women of our armed services 
by holding a full dress parade in his honor and bestowing upon him the 
Department of Defense's Distinguished Public Service Award. This was an 
especially impressive ceremony that weaved together pageantry, 
heritage, and patriotism in a stirring tribute to both Senator Dole and 
his service to the United States. I was particularly moved by the 
remarks of my two friends and want to share them with my colleagues in 
the Senate, and with the Nation through the Congressional Record. I am 
certain that all who read these speeches will agree with me that they 
provide both insight into a modest and private man and a fitting 
tribute to a true American hero.
  I ask unanimous consent that copies of Secretary Cohen's and Senator 
Dole's remarks be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

Senator Bob Dole--Remarks Prepared for Delivery, Fort Meyer, Virginia, 
                             April 29, 1998

       If given the choice between receiving an award from a 
     Secretary of Defense or appointing a Secretary of Defense, I 
     would have picked the latter.
       Seriously, I am humbled and honored by this award, and it 
     means all the more to me because it was presented by a man I 
     have long been privileged to call my friend. Thank you, Mr. 
     Secretary, for this ceremony, for this award, and for 
     reminding us that when it comes to our national defense, we 
     should not define ourselves as Democrats or Republicans, but 
     rather, simply as Americans.
       I am also pleased to be joined today by the president of 
     the American Red Cross. Throughout this century, wherever you 
     have found American service men and women--whether on the 
     battlefield, on the base, or in the hospital--you knew that 
     close by you would also find the American Red Cross.
       And on behalf of all the past and present members of the 
     Armed Forces here, I thank Elizabeth for the difference the 
     Red Cross has made in our lives. And while I may not be proof 
     of the old saying that here in America, any boy can grow up 
     to be President, I take heart in the fact that I am proof 
     that any boy can grow up and be married to the President . . 
     . of the American Red Cross, that is.
       During my life I have been privileged to be called by many 
     titles--including congressman, Senator, and majority leader. 
     But the two titles of which I am most proud have nothing to 
     do with elective office. The first is ``Kansan.'' And the 
     second is ``veteran.''
       I have often wondered why the Army assigned a kid from the 
     plains of Kansas to serve in the 10th Mountain Division, but 
     I've never wondered about the courage and heroism of those 
     who served with me, and those who have defended our country 
     in the half century that has followed. And I can't help but 
     recall today the words of General George Marshall, who was 
     asked soon after America's entrance into World War II, 
     whether we had a secret weapon that would ensure victory.
       Marshall said, ``Yes, our secret weapon is the best darned 
     kids in the world.''
       Marshall was right. America ensured the survival of freedom 
     in World War II precisely because we had the best darned kids 
     in the world--kids who were willing to fight and die for 
     their country and for the cause of freedom.
       What was true in World War II, has continued to be true in 
     the decades that have followed, as more of those best darned 
     kids have fought and died in places with names like Inchon, 
     Porkchop Hill, the Persian Gulf, and countless other 
     locations around the globe.
       I traveled to Bosnia just this past weekend, and can report 
     to you, Mr. Secretary, that our Armed Services can still 
     boast the best darned kids in the world.
       Throughout my years in the Battlefields of Capitol Hill, I 
     always tried to remember and stand up for those who were 
     serving or who had served. And I always tried to remember 
     that the only way to ensure that future generations or those 
     kids would not be buried on foreign land was to continue to 
     provide for a strong defense and American leadership whenever 
     and wherever it was needed.
       And any success I achieved in this regard was achieved 
     because so many others stood with me. And although this old 
     soldier has retired from elective office, I don't intend to 
     fade away. Rather, I will continue to stand up and speak out 
     on matters of importance to the United States, and I will 
     always regard this day and this award not as recognition for 
     any achievements of the past, but as a reminder of our 
     responsibilities to future generations of Americans.
       And so, Mr. Secretary, Lieutenant Robert J. Dole is 
     reporting for duty today, ready for a mission that must be 
     shared by all Americans; a mission perhaps best defined by 
     the author Herman Wouk, who said:
       ``(Our duty is to) reassure (our men and women in uniform) 
     that their hard, long training is needed, that love of 
     country is noble, that self-sacrifice is rewarding and that 
     to be ready to fight for freedom fills one with a sense of 
     worth like nothing else . . . for if America is still the 
     great beacon in dense gloom, the promise to hundreds of 
     millions of the oppressed that liberty exists, that it is the 
     shining future, that they can throw off their tyrants, and 
     learn freedom and cease learning war, then we still need 
     heroes to stand guard in the night.''
       Thank you, Mr. Secretary for this day, and thanks to all 
     those heroes here today and the countless thousands who serve 
     with you who make the world a safer place by standing guard 
     in the night.
                                  ____


   Remarks of Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen--Presentation of 
Distinguished Public Service Award to Bob Dole, Conmy Hall, Fort Myer, 
                        Virginia, April 29, 1998

       General Ralston, thank you for your gracious words. Senator 
     Dole, Elizabeth and Robin Dole; Members of Congress: Senator 
     Thurmond, Specter, Campbell, Smith and Reed and Congressmen 
     Ryun and Houghton; Deputy Secretary Hamre and Julie Hamre; 
     Service secretaries, service chiefs and spouses; 
     Distinguished guests, especially Jack Kemp, Warren Rudman, 
     Paul Laxalt, Colin Powell, Ambassador Ellsworth. Welcome all, 
     and thank you for joining Janet and me and the entire 
     Department of Defense in paying tribute to a dear friend and 
     a true American hero--Bob Dole.
       Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., who served his country 
     both as a soldier and a public servant, once spoke to his 
     fellow veterans in words that reflect the soldier and public 
     servant we honor today. Holmes said: ``As I look into your 
     eyes, I feel that a great trial in your youth made you 
     different. It made you a citizen of the world and not of a 
     little town. Best of all, it made you believe in something 
     else besides doing the best for yourself. You learned a 
     lesson early which has given a different feeling to life, 
     which put a kind of fire into your heart.''
       Today we express our gratitude to Bob Dole, a man from the 
     little town of Russell, Kansas for whom the lessons of life 
     came early. With the Dustbowl came the lesson of hard work. 
     With the Depression came the lesson of hardship. With World 
     War II came the lesson of service and sacrifice in a way most 
     of us will never know.
       Throughout his distinguished career, we have called Bob 
     Dole by many titles--Congressman Dole, Senator Dole, Chairman 
     Dole and Candidate Dole. Our ceremony today honors all those 
     roles, but also honors a time when he was known as Second 
     Lieutenant Robert Dole, who led the Second Battalion of the 
     85th Infantry Mountain Regiment of the U.S. Army's 10th 
     Mountain Division.
       As the war in Europe was winding down, a spring offensive 
     was scheduled for April 12, 1945 to bring about the surrender 
     of German forces in Italy. On the same day, as it happens, 
     President Roosevelt died. But it was not the President's 
     death but a heavy fog that delayed the offensive until April 
     14 at oh-six-hundred. After the intensive assault against 
     fortified German positions by heavy bombers, fighter-bombers 
     and artillery, the 10th Mountain Division began to move 
     across a ravine to a clearing to take for the Allies what was 
     known as Hill 913.
       But even after the shelling and bombing, there was 
     significant German resistance. The snipers were dug in. The 
     10th Mountain Division would take more causalities on April 
     14, 1945 than all the other Allied forces in Italy. Second 
     Lieutenant Robert Dole was hit and gravely wounded by a 
     mortar blast and waited in a shell hole for nine hours until 
     the medics could reach him.

[[Page S5423]]

       The war in Europe ended just a few weeks later on May 8, 
     1945. Second Lieutenant Dole came back to a Topeka hospital 
     and eventually back to Russell. When he went to Europe, he 
     weighed a muscular 200 pounds and was a football, basketball 
     and track star at the State University of Kansas. When he 
     came home after the war, he was on a stretcher and weighed 
     120 pounds. At one point, his temperature reached 108.7 
     degrees.
       Faced with this terrible situation and the unanimously 
     gloomy opinion of his doctors, many people, even most people, 
     would have become disheartened and simply given up. But Bob 
     Dole persevered, through more than three years of arduous 
     recovery and through a lifetime of difficulty and hardship 
     which he handled with this customary humor and grace. No one 
     ever worked harder, complained less or laughed more than Bob 
     Dole. And no one ever loved his country more or had a better 
     appreciation of the honor and sacrifice of military service.
       From the terrible trauma of his injuries, Bob Dole fought 
     back and won elective office as county attorney, US 
     Congressman, US Senator and Senate Majority Leader. He has 
     been his party's nominee for Vice President and President. He 
     even makes a pretty good VISA commercial! (Although his 
     credit is not very good in that financial mega center--
     Russell.)
       Also, no hero does it alone, and Janet and I also want to 
     pay tribute to a lady of grace, charm and accomplishment who 
     is Bob's partner, friend and wife--Elizabeth Dole. Elizabeth, 
     thank you for your service to America.
       I had the privilege of serving with Bob Dole in the 
     legislative trenches of the U.S. Senate for 18 years. And I 
     can tell you he remained a warrior eager to take on a new 
     battle every day. He is and always will be an American Hero 
     of the highest order.
       Thanks to people like Bob Dole who have worked for a strong 
     national defense, we are privileged to live in largely 
     peaceful times where the sons of Bangor, Maine or Russell, 
     Kansas are not being sent to fight and die on distant 
     battlefields. The privilege of these peaceful times is made 
     possible by the sacrifice of many thousands who have given 
     their bodies and their lives in the cause of liberty.
       We do not pause often enough to give tribute to the silent 
     white gravestones which dot the hills of Arlington National 
     Cemetery or give thanks to the heroes who are still among us. 
     Today, as Secretary of Defense, it makes me extremely proud 
     for our Department and our nation to pay tribute to a modest 
     man of immodest talent--a person who has defined heroism and 
     courage for millions of Americans.
       The great American writer John Steinbeck once wrote that 
     the best measure of one's time on this earth is the 
     contribution each of us makes to the world around us. ``There 
     is,'' Steinbeck wrote, ``no other story. A man, after he has 
     brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left 
     only the hard clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? 
     Have I done well--or ill?''
       For Second Lieutenant Bob Dole--Army Serial #17179287--
     Steinbeck's question is not a hard one. He has done well--he 
     has served his nation with the highest distinction--he has 
     remained a man with fire in his heart. And it is my highest 
     privilege to award our highest civilian honor, the Department 
     of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, to Bob 
     Dole.

                          ____________________