From the time the memorial opened in 2004, Dole was a fixture at ceremonies large and small, meeting with fellow World War II veterans who came from all over the country on honor flights.

So it was fitting that as part of the services honoring the late Senate Republican leader, the motorcade carrying his casket made a stop at that memorial on the way to Joint Base Andrews for Dole’s last visit to his native Kansas.

“When his official public service came to an end, Bob could have faded away with his dear Elizabeth, telling stories, remembering the good old days. But that was not his nature,” former Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said at the service, referring to Dole’s widow, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C. “There was still so much vision and promise, still so much he could do for his fellow veterans, and for his nation.”
 
“Let everyone know: Without Bob Dole, there would not be a World War II Memorial,” he said.

“There is no better display of the vision and promise of America than every weekend when the honor flights would roll up to the World War Two Memorial,” Roberts added. “Kansas veterans escorted by Kansas high school students would visit their memorial to reflect on their fight to preserve a free world. And there was Bob shaking every hand, posing for every picture, listening to all their stories.”

- Roll Call, Dec. 10, 2021

There should be a statue of Bob Dole erected at the plaza of the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.