Tuesday, September 8, 2009

An American Hero

Today I read an article in The Wall Street Journal about Bob Dole. You remember him, he ran for president in 1996. He was a senate majority leader and is a World War II veteran. And that's what this story is all about.

There is an organization called the Honor Flight Network. Their sole purpose is to fly WWII veterans, free of charge, to Washington DC to see the WWII Memorial so that they can see the memorial built to mark the war in which they fought.

This article wasn't about the Honor Flight Network, it was about Bob Dole who greets these vets at the memorial. He speaks with each one, joins each in a picture. He even speaks with the families of those vets who come. He jokes with them. He does this week after week. When he was in the hospital a while back, his wife, Elizabeth, stood in for him. He says that he will be there as long as he is in good health.

Mr. Dole is not your typical politician. He seeks no publicity for this, he receives no pay for this. He just wants to recognize the efforts of these veterans so long ago. Without their heroic efforts, where would we be?

1 comment:

BetteJo said...

I love the stories about people who do good things just because they want to. Looks like Bob Dole is one of those.