His childhood was the commonplace one of a farmtown boy: Methodist church meetings, Boy Scouts, public schools, a strict loving home life, and a penchant for work. An honor secondary school student, Dole was extremely ambitious, at one time entertaining the dream of medical school. He had a passion for sports and won letters in running, football, and basketball. At the University of Kansas (Lawrence) he enrolled in a pre-med course and continued his athletics, becoming a star quarter-miler.
Life Threatened in War
In 1943, Dole's studies were interrupted by World War II and he began training in various military specialties at schools around the country, completing his training as an infantry second lieutenant at Fort Benning (Georgia) Officer Candidate School. Assigned as a platoon leader to the 10th Mountain Division in Italy in early 1945, he saw action against German units in March. A month later--on April 14, 1945--he received a wound which kept him hospitalized for more than three years and left him with a permanently disabled right arm.
For a while there was no guarantee he would live, since the shell hit his shoulder and spine, paralyzing all his limbs.
This is a free page. This page contains 192 words. This
biography contains 1,814 words (approx. 6 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Biography with our Robert J. Dole Access Pass.
