 Ladies and gentlemen, General Milley. Thank you all for coming and what a great day it is today. Beautiful sun. We've got the World War II Memorial to our backs. What a great day to honor America's greatest generation. And as you all know, World War II was a defining event not only in American history, but indeed in human history. It is the largest war ever conducted in recorded human history. And it really culminated about 30 years of conflict that it went from 1914 to 1945. And in those 30 years or so, 150 million people gave their lives in the conduct of war. It was a war, a series of wars that toppled empires and indelibly shaped a generation. 16 million Americans were the clop of our nation during World War II. And almost half a million, 500,000, paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms that we enjoy. The memorial behind me today stands as a tribute to the courage, the sacrifice, and the devotion of that greatest generation. And we are all proud, Senator Dole, of you and all of your comrades' devotion. My mother, father, the parents, the grandparents, of many of us here today. Thank you so much for what you've done for our country. And today, we also have the distinct privilege to honor Senator Dole, a World War II veteran, for his service to the Army and to the nation by promoting him to the honorary rank of colonel. In the 244 years of the United States Army, only three officers have ever received an honorary promotion of any kind. The first was George Washington, which promoted to the rank of general of the Army. The second was Lieutenant Clark of Lewis and Clark. And he was honorarily promoted to the rank of colonel. The third and only living recipient of an honorary promotion in United States Army history is Senator Bob Dole. Bob Dole has distinguished himself for many, many years, both in uniform and out of uniform. And I am honored, sir, to recognize you on behalf of not only the Army, but indeed the nation. But before we do that, we would like to recognize a few people in the crowd that helped us. And the first and foremost are all the congressional delegation from the great state of Kansas. Senator Pat Roberts, Senator Pat Roberts, Senator Jerry Moran, Congressman Marshall, Watkins, Estes, and David, every one of them were instrumental in getting this promotion, because it literally took an act of Congress to give you this promotion, sir. I also want to welcome today our great Secretary of State, former Congressman from Kansas, Secretary Mike Pompeo, graduate of the United States Military Academy. And if he does, in fact, establish peace in the world, maybe someday we'll promote him to the honorary rank of colonel as well. And we also want to recognize the great senator from Virginia, Senator Mark Warner. Thank you, sir, for being here. And I think it's important to recognize Senator Dole's family for the love and the support of all of our families has a lot to do with wherever we end up in life. And Senator Dole's parents, Durand and Bina, they were hardworking, salt-of-the-earth people. And they raised Senator Dole and his brother and sisters in the great state of Kansas during a really, really tough time in American history, the Great Depression. They worked hard to provide for Senator Dole and his siblings. But most of all, they provided an environment to develop his strength of character. His parents were role models that clearly instilled in him the values of duty and service to the nation from an early age. And though they both passed away, we all know they are with us here today in spirit. And they're proud of their son and his lifetime of service. And we also want to recognize Senator Dole's wife, Elizabeth. They've been married now for over 43 years. And like her husband, Elizabeth has also devoted her life to the service of others. In addition to her time as a United States Senator from North Carolina, she's worked for six different presidents. She's worked in the Federal Trade Commission and the Secretary of Transportation, along with the Secretary of Labor. She's also president of the Red Cross and doing all the important work that they do for all of us in uniform and many, many others. She's also established the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and does such great work and supports the caregivers of our wounded warriors. Senator Elizabeth Dole, you have given so much of yourself. You've given so much of yourself to others for so many years. And on behalf of the United States Army and a grateful nation, thank you as well for your service to our country and support to your husband for so many decades. Thank you. And Senator Dole's daughter, Robin, is also here. And whether you serve in uniform or not, she and the children of all of us in uniform sacrificed for our country every bit as much as we do. And Robin is no exception to that. She has supported her father for so many, many years through his congressional and presidential campaigns and through everything he's ever done. She also has a passion for serving others and does a lot of work with the ASPCA and has also been a counselor for teams battling drug addiction. So Robin, thank you. Thank you for being here today. Thank you for what you're doing and for your service to this nation. We're here today to promote Bob Dole to the honor and rank of colonel in the United States Army. Promotion of any kind is a reflection of the soldier's skills, his attributes, his competence, his character, and his potential. And looking at Bob Dole's service, it is clear that he exceeded all of the standards in every one of those measures. He was a freshman in college at the University of Kansas in 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. As he listened to the news bulletin on the radio, he could feel deep inside that his life was about to change significantly. And like many young men, the brazen attack on the United States ignited young Bob's patriotic spirit. And so he began his journey to the battlefields of Europe. Just 18 months earlier, in 1939, when the Nazis crossed the border of Poland, the United States Army had less than 200,000 soldiers in it in only three divisions. By 1945, we had grown to 11 million and 89 divisions. We were very unprepared for World War II and the ravages of extended ground combat in multiple theaters. We were ranked 17th in terms of our military power in 1939, just behind Portugal. And yet the United States rose to the cause because of men like Bob Dole and others that are here today from the honor flight that showed up. Second Lieutenant Dole joined the Army in 1942, and then he went to OCS in 1944, deployed across the Atlantic the next month. His troopship sailed to a port in Italy only a few days before Christmas, 1944. Second Lieutenant Dole was assigned to the storied 10th Mountain Division, fighting in the Apennine Mountains in the line against the line of German defenses known as the Gothic Line. He joined the famous 85th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain and was assigned to be the platoon leader for second platoon India Company, positioned near the small town of Ayano. As spring came and the weather improved, the mountain snows began to melt. And as a result, the 10th Mountain Division was ordered to continue its offenses to break through the German's Gothic line in the Italian mountains. India Company's mission was to attack and seize Hill 913, a dominating train feature that blocked the mouth of the valley that US forces needed to cross. The company, including Second Lieutenant Dole and his second platoon commenced the attack in the early morning hours of 14 April, 1945, less than 30 days before VE Europe on 8 May, and less than 30 days before German surrender in Italy on 29 April. After only going a very short distance, one of the men in the front of the column, Lieutenant Dole's platoon stepped on a landmine, triggering an explosion that shattered the stillness of the morning. The world exploded around Lieutenant Dole and his company as machine gun fire grenades and mortars filled. The air as German soldiers concealed in their defensive positions opened fire on the American. The company commander told Lieutenant Dole, called him and told him to continue the attack. He gave his platoon the mission to take out that machine gun nest firing on the company from a nearby hill. Lieutenant Dole quickly assembled the assault squad and positioned the rest of his men forward to provide covering fire. He and his soldiers attacked without hesitation led by the Lieutenant, Lieutenant Bob Dole, initially crawling on their bellies to an open field and then rushing forward up a hill toward the enemy machine gun. As they closed in on the gun's position, the German fire intensified and many of the soldiers in second platoon were wounded or killed. Lieutenant Dole looked around for his radio man, Private Sims, and saw him a short distance away, slumped over, not moving, still clutching his radio. Lieutenant Dole scrambled across the dirt where Private Sims lay. Lieutenant Dole grabbed him by the shirt and began to drag him to the relative safety of a nearby bomb crater. They hadn't moved more than a few feet when the enemy machine gun tore into Bob Dole's back near his right shoulder with the impact throwing him to the ground. He was very badly wounded. His right arm and shoulder were mangled and his spinal cord had been damaged and he was unable to move either his arms or his legs. Another soldier reached out and dragged Lieutenant Dole back behind a nearby stone wall and probably saved his life. The soldiers had been instructed to press the attack and leave the wounded to be tended by medics coming up from the rear. So the soldier laid Lieutenant Dole behind the wall and returned to continue the assault. Bob Dole lay there, facing up in the dirt, not knowing whether he would live or die, unable to move as the battle raged on around him. Bob Dole laid there for seven consecutive hours before medics were able to reach him. India Company fought all that day and into the next day and finally took Hill 913 and they were eventually relieved by Kelo Company of the 85th Infantry, laid on the 15th. In the end, India Company, Bob Dole's Company and the other 10th Mountain Units fighting for Hill 913 suffered 460 US casualties of which 98 were killed in action. Medics eventually got to Lieutenant Dole and they evacuated him. He left the battlefields of Italy. His war was over against the Nazis but his fight was really just beginning. Lieutenant Dole didn't know it at the time but because of the severity of his injuries, the doctors and nurses in the field hospital didn't think he would survive. They triaged him with the dead and the expectant casualties to die. His recovery would literally take years. For months he was largely confined to a bed, his upper body encased in a total body cast. He fought flood clots and life-threatening infections and despair but just as he did in the dirt on Hill 913 Lieutenant Dole refused to give in and as we know he persevered, he healed and he went on to distinguish himself in the service of his country many, many times over in both the House of Representatives and the Senate during a 25 year and 35 year political career. Senator Dole's legislative legacy includes passing laws that made it easy for families to access food stamps, improvements to the social security program, extending the Voting Rights Act and importantly passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. And through it all he earned a reputation not only as an advocate of all Americans but specifically an advocate of veterans and their families and the disabled and he's always been a bipartisan leader of our country who could reach across the aisle for the greater good of the nation. After leaving Congress in 1996, Bob Dole didn't slow down and he didn't stop advocacy for worthy causes. In addition to practicing law and authoring several books, he served as a founding board member of the World Food Program, USA, part of a program that provided 15 billion meals, 15 billion with a B meals to more than 90 million people in 80 countries around the globe to combat their hunger. He served as the head of the World War II Memorial Campaign which raised $197 million to build this memorial that stands behind me that you see today. He's also known for frequently visiting with other World War II veterans. Even now at 95 years young, it isn't uncommon to spot Bob Dole here at the World War II Memorial on Saturdays greeting veterans of the honor flights as he's doing today and thanking them for their service or for him to visit the veterans and the VA hospitals as he did last week in Wichita, Kansas. So today, we are honoring a man of character with a long and impressive record of selfless service to others. Bob Dole raised his right hand in 1942 and sworn oath to the Constitution of the United States of America to protect the ideals that our country is founded on. He did that knowing the danger despite the very real possibility that he would be injured or killed in the middle of a war. He again raised his right hand on 14 April, 1945 to rally his soldiers and lead the attack up hill 913. And because of his injuries, he received that day Lieutenant Dole lost the ability to raise that very right hand that he swore the oath with. But a man like Bob Dole will never be put down. He has such a clear calling to serve. He refused to be stopped by the enemy. He refuses to be stopped by an obstacle. There is nothing that will overcome the magnitude of Bob Dole's character. When others would have given up, he instead raised his other hand and continued to lead and to give of himself. Captain Bob Dole took off his uniform for the last time on 29 July, 1948. But he hasn't quit serving for over seven decades. And that's why we are here today. That's why we are proud as a nation and as an army to honor Bob Dole with his promotion to the rank of colonel. Senator Dole, the United States Army is proud to count you among the giants of our ranks. We honor your lifetime of service in uniform and out of uniform. Thank you for your many, many years of sacrifice. Thank you for everything you've done for our army. Thank you for everything you've done for our veterans. And thank you so much for everything you've done for our nation. Army strong. Oh boy, you did a great job. Beautiful. Beautiful. I go out there. Yeah, we're going to go right in front of the colors. Oh, okay. Ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated during the public... Take these off. ...and the presentation please. We're... All right, let's get some discipline in this off, big colonel. Yeah. Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. All right, are you good? Pardon? Good to go? Yeah. Are you ready to get promoted? I'm ready. We're going to need another act of Congress just to get your pay raise. Okay. I've got some members here. Attention orders and consideration of a lifetime of commitment to this nation from sacrificing on the battlefields of Europe to representing the state of Kansas and the men and women of the armed services during the four decades in the Congress of the United States. And because of our trust and confidence and the patriotism, valor, fidelity, and abilities of Robert J. Dole, we do hereby appoint him and the United States Army to the honorary grade of Colonel, as such from the sixth day of April, 2019. Done at the city of Washington, the 16th day of May, and the year of our Lord, 2019. And of the independence of the United States of America, the 242nd by the President, signed Mark T. Esper, Secondary Army, and Mark A. Milley, General, United States Army, Chief of Staff. Congress signed by Pelosi and Grassley. Thank you. We've got a few other things we're going to do. Oh, General Milley is now presenting Senator Dole, Colonel Rankin Signia. And this is the American Eagle, which is the rank of a United States Army Colonel. And Senator, we're presenting you this, so you're going from Captain to Colonel. Oh, boy, that's a jump. Thank you. That's a, yeah, there they are. There they are, look at that. Yeah. Pretty good, huh? Yeah. Full Colonel. Full Colonel, full Colonel, not Lieutenant Colonel. None of this light burnt, but we're doing full Colonel. Well, in five years, I get a promotion. Senator Dole, when I receive a letter from the Acting Secretary of Defense, the letter reads, Dear Senator Dole, I regret that I will miss opportunity to personally celebrate your honorary promotion to Colonel this week, but I will be remiss if I did not use a significant occasion to recognize your lifelong contributions to our national defense and the men and women who protect it. I can think of no more fitting a place than the World War II Memorial to recognize a heroic uniform service that inspired your subsequent seven decades campaigning policies to improve the lives of fellow warfighters. The United States will not long exist without those like you who protect and advocate the enlightened ideals upon which the nation was founded. Congratulations on a promotion well earned and recognition of a legacy of unwavering patriotic leadership, both in war and in peace. On behalf of the Department of Defense, we are eternally grateful for your devotion to our nation and our armed forces. Signed, Patrick M. Senehan, Acting Secretary of Defense. Thank you. Oh, thank you. Journal Billy is presenting Senator Dole with a portrait of Journal of the Army, George Marshall, in appreciation for his commitment and service to the nation. What's this? This is a portrait of George Marshall, who's probably America's greatest general. He was the commander of the United States Army, the chief of staff of the United States Army, when you were Lieutenant Dole. And I think it's appropriate that you have a portrait like him hanging under one. I do, yeah, thank you. He was quite a guy. Notice the uniform similarity there. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Journal Milley. Oh. Any comment? And Command Sergeant Major. Ladies and gentlemen, Senator Bob Dole. Thank you. Well, thank you all for coming. I didn't know who they were talking about with all those nice words, but I appreciate General Milley's personal attention to everything that's going on here today. He's done a fantastic job. And he has his lovely wife, Holly Ann, here too, and I'm very proud that my wife, Elizabeth, another senator, and my daughter, Robin, are here and her friend, Susan. Well, thank you. Well, I've had a great life and this is sort of the icing on the cake. Not that I have to be a colonel, I was happy being a captain. And the pay is the same. Yeah. Anyway, thank you all for being who you are and what you stand for and that you love America. You're willing to fight for America regardless of the consequences. And after 74 years of being disabled, I've started to learn how to do things and decided to learn how to do things in a different way. I've had a great life. I have a great wife, life, wife and daughter. And I'm again, I want to thank General Milley for doing all the military work and I want to thank Pia on my staff for getting all of us seated and all those things. So thank you very much. I don't know what else to say. I mean, this is, I can't top this unless I live five years, I'll get a promotion. But I'm 95, so the odds aren't too good. But I'll be around quite a while in case there's another promotion. So thank you again, General Milley. Thank you, Holly Ann, thank you for coming. And all my friends out there and my friends from Congress and Democrats and Republicans and independents, I worked with all of them and we got a lot done working with a bipartisan majority. I've always believed in bipartisanship and tried to demonstrate it while I was the leader of the Senate. But I guess above all, I've had help from Elizabeth and Robin and Eloise and Gia, Pia, thank you. I'm gonna go over here and we're gonna sing the arousing rendition of the Army song. Oh, good. Where'd I go that way? Yeah, you're gonna go over here. Remember all the words, they're in the program. And then as soon as we're done with the Army song, we'd like to take the center up and put them in front of flags and have the Kansas delegation take some photos and take some pictures. Good. Thank you, Senator Dole. Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the singing of the Army song led by Sergeant First Class Smith. The words to the Army song can be found in the back of your program. March along, sing our song with the army of the brave count the true who have fought to victory. We're the Army and we proudly proclaim first to fight for the right and to build the nation's might and the Army goes rolling, I've done fighting till the battle's won and the Army goes rolling along. Then it's high, count off the cadence loud and strong. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's ceremony. Thank you for your attendance and enjoy the rest of your day.