| Lieutenant Robert J. Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) recovering from wounds received in combat in the Po Valley on April 14, 1945. Dole enlisted in the United States Army in December 1942. Leaving studies at the University of Kansas, he was called up for duty in June 1943. He studied medicine and then engineering in Brooklyn until March 1944. Assigned to the 290th Infantry, he trained in anti-tank guns. Applying for Officer Candidate School, Doel graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Fall of 1944. Doel was assigned to I Company, 3rd Battalion, 85th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division. I Company was a “kamikaze” company, so-called for the massive casualties the company had taken in combat in Italy. The previous platoon leader was dead. Sergeant E. Frank Carafa (May 6, 1921 – October 30, 2005) had led the platoon until Dole arrived. Recognizing that he was green and could benefit from listening to experienced combat soldiers, Dole deferred to Carafa and didn’t make any changes to the platoon. He endeared himself to his men with that directive. On March 18, 1945, Dole was slightly wounded by a grenade fragment during a night patrol, earning his 1st Purple Heart. 2 days after mourning United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945), I Company assaulted Hill 913. Nazi German machine guns cut down several of Dole’s men, as he led the platoon up the hill. His radioman was killed. Dole tried to advance and was hit in the shoulder. He never knew if he was hit by machine gun bullets or shell shrapnel. Carafa took 30 minutes to work up the courage to crawl past the dead men of the platoon to reach Dole. He then pulled another man to safety. Dole looked gray, the way men did before they died. Sergeant Stanley Kuschick (December 12, 1922 – March 23, 1980(, wounded himself, was detailed to stay with him. Kuschick was supposed to join the attack, but Carafa left Kuschick with him. Kuschick administered morphine, writing an “M” in Dole’s blood on his forehead. Kuschick ordered 1 of the “walking wounded,” Arthur G. McBryar (March 26, 1924 – March 26, 2007) to stay with Dole while he rejoined the attack. McBryar, wounded in the leg, was more worried about Doel than himself – he could see through Dole’s shoulder to his back; blood soaked his uniform and the ground. McBryar administered sulfa, the 1st round of which would later cost Doel his right kidney. Artillery fire caused McBryar to have a concussion, but he found tow German medics who carried Dole down Hill 913. They were almost gunned down by an American tank, but Dole, barely conscious, called out his name and rank. After waiting 9 hours, both men were taken to the 15th Evacuation hospital. Dole was in bad shape. Whatever hit him had exploded inside his body; his collarbone was broken, his shoulder destroyed, and 2 vertebrae shattered. His arm was broken too. He couldn’t feel anything below his beck. Dole fist went to the Army Hospital in Pistoia, Florence. The doctors there operated but couldn’t find the shrapnel pressing on his spine. They thought he would never walk again. Dole was placed in a body cast from his neck to his toes. He later said he felt “like a piece of china” as he was shipped to Casablanca. On June 12, 1945, Dole was transferred to the United States, to Topeka Kansas and Winter General Veterans Hospital. He had lost bowel and bladder function, and his mother Bina (April 19, 1903 – September 5, 1983) tended to him daily. His temperature soared to 108.7 degrees Fahrenheit (42.6 degrees celsius) and it was found the sulfa drugs had caused crystals in his right kidney. It was removed on July 11, 1945. Bina never forgave the Army for not moving Bob Dole around in his cast enough to prevent kidney stones that cost him his kidney. Dole could not feed himself for an entire year. His weight had dropped from 194 pounds (87 kilograms) to 122 pounds (55 kilograms). He tried to walk, 1st around the block, and then 2 blocks. A neighbor asked him if it would be better if he had died. Dole replied, “If I’da felt that way, I’d been dead a long time ago.” Dole traveled to Percy Jones Hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan, in November 1945 for physical therapy. In December 1945, blood clots caused his lungs to clamp up with excruciating pain. His father, Doran Dole (August 18, 1900 – December 9, 1975) rode from Kansas to Michigan on the train, standing the whole way. Doctors had stopped dicoumarol, a blood thinner, and his temperature shoot up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius). Doctors told Dole’s family he had a 100 chance of survival. Dole received streptomycin, but only with his parents’ permission. The antibiotics saved his life again. 2nd Lieutenant Daniel Ken Inouye (September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was at Battle Creek as well, recovering from wounds received on April 21, 1945, while leading an assault on the heavily defended Colle Musatello Ridge near San Terenzo, Italy. Dole became known for his wry sense of humor, which helped patients cope with their disabilities. Dole himself struggled with not being able to walk, and demanded to get himself up when he fell. Lieutenant Colonel Philip A. Hart (December 10, 1912 – December 26, 1976), wounded on Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion, was also there. All 3 men would become Untied States Senators. Dole returned to the family home in Russell, Iowa. Bina and Doran vacated the ground floor bedroom for Robert, who shocked the neighbors by shuffling around the block. In June 1947, Dole underwent a series of operations. The right arm hung a few inches (7 centimeters) more than the left. The operations were not entirely successful, but they did afford Dole some level of movement. He would be permanently disabled for the rest of his life. Dole’s injuries would lead him to be a staunch advocate for the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1996. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0660.jpg |
| Image Size | 458.23 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2955 x 2335 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Dole Archives |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | July 1, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | Topeka |
| State or Province | Kansas |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | University of Kansas |
| Record Number | dip.bio_2_29 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database