Congress unanimously votes to promote Bob Dole from captain to colonel
Former Republican Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, the 1996 GOP presidential nominee, has been promoted from captain to colonel for his U.S. Army service during World War II. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a motion promoting Dole on Tuesday, after the Senate had passed the measure earlier this month.
The 95-year old former senator was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal last year. He was last seen at the U.S. Capitol in December when he paid tribute to his one-time political rival, former president George H.W. Bush. Mostly confined to a wheelchair, Dole showed up in the Capitol Rotunda and stood to salute Bush's casket.
The bill was cosponsored by the entire Kansas congressional delegation. Dole was first elected to Congress in 1960. He later became the GOP's vice presidential candidate in the 1976 election and in 1996 was his party's nominee to challenge Democratic President Bill Clinton.
Before entering politics, Dole fought in Italy during World War II, where he was seriously wounded by a German machine gun. The injuries he sustained left him partially paralyzed in his right arm, which he disguised by constantly carrying a pen in his right hand.
Dole is married to former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, who represented North Carolina in the U.S. Senate from 2003 to 2009, was a cabinet secretary during the Bush and Reagan presidencies, and also ran for president in 2000.
CBS News' Ed O'Keefe contributed to this story.