Godspeed to the Greatest Generation

This weekend, this country bade farewell to (at least) two more members of the Greatest Generation.  

Colonel Ed Shames was the last surviving brother from the Band of Brothers, the men of the United States Army's Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division who fought their way across Europe from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest.  He was ninety-nine years old when he died, peacefully at home, on Friday. 

Bob Dole died on Sunday.  He was ninety-eight years old.  His life in the service of this country included not only his World War II service in which he suffered a serious injury that he used as an impetus to achieve tremendous success, including during his long career in the United States Senate.   He sought the Republican nomination for the Presidency of the United States three times, earning it in 1996, when Bill Clinton defeated him to win a second term in the White House. A lifetime ago, in 1988, I volunteered for his campaign for the Republican nomination while I was a junior at CU.   He did not win the nomination, of course, which President George H.W. Bush (‘41) captured.  He carried himself in defeat with the same grace he exhibited in triumph.  

All these years later, I still list my experience working for his campaign on my resume and my bio.  I do it because it makes me feel good to have been associated with Mr. Dole, even if it was only for a fleeting moment a long, long time ago.  

-AK