Episode 166: One Soldier's Story; Bob Dole, Part III

World War II continues in Europe and the Pacific, while Bob Dole continues to train on the home front and wonders if he will ever make it overseas, like his younger brother Kenny who is an experienced combat veteran by summer 1944. When Dole get another chance to attend OCS and become an officer, he jumps at it - and this time get a class slot. The Army has a shortage of lieutenants and needs to quickly train more. Dole is happy to replace an LT but never stops to ask why so many need to be replaced.

 

Episode 165: One Soldier's Story - Bob Dole, Part II

 

Bob Dole finishes the 1942-1943 school year at Kansas University and is almost immediately called up for active duty. His training timeline is changed multiple times - as does the military job he is training for - but once the Allies successfully land at Normandy on D-Day, he know that his time is coming. After being afraid that the war would end before he got into it, he is now sure he will be heading to the European Theater of Operation. 

Episode 164 - Climb to Glory!

The pre-World War II history of my 10th Mountain Division.

 

Episode 163 - One Soldier's Story; Bob Dole, Part I

 

Before he was a Senator, and even before he was a soldier, Bob Dole (right rear) was the second oldest of four children in a family in Russell, Kansas

In high school he was a three-letter varsity athlete. He played football; he ran track; but basketball was his first love, and it is partially why he became the first person in his family to go to college.

[REPLAY] Episode 13 - I Could Stay Here Forever

This week is a REPLAY of Episode 13, when I initially talked about JFK's funeral as part of the story of the history of the history of Arlington National Cemetery, but is a fitting finish for the story I've been telling these last few months.

 

Episode 162: The Other PT 109 Survivors; JFK, Part VIII

 

The survivors of PT 109 led distinct and varied lives. All but one of them survived the war, most of them survived their skipper, Jack Kennedy, and a few of them lived into the 21st century. Several of them worked on JFK's presidential campaign in one way or another, and a handful were even given the chance to travel to Japan in the early 1960s and meet with crewmembers of the Amagiri.

What they all had in common was a love for their commander and not a single one of them ever had a negative thing to say about Lieutenant Kennedy - at least not in public. That tends to be the sign of a good leader!

Episode 161: The Rest of the Story; JFK, Part VIII

 

After Jack's rocky year in the House of Representatives, he runs for the Senate and beats a guy who hasn't lost an election in years... and he wins it with the help of an endorsement from an old adversary who has become a new friend.

He really settles into life as a senator and, as you probably know, he goes on to become the second youngest president in US history. But I promise there are a few details you don't know about the rest of the story, so I hope you listen.