Memorial events have been announced to pay tribute to former U.S. Senator Bob Dole. A memorial service will be held on Friday in Washington, D.C., and then Dole’s casket will be flown to Kansas for public memorial services on Saturday.
A special program will be held at 10 a.m. Central time on Friday at the National World War II Memorial. Tributes will be offered by General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with actor Tom Hanks, news anchor Savanna Guthrie, and the U.S. Army Band. Former U.S. Senator and former Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole will lay a wreath in her husband’s honor.
The Senator’s casket will be taken to Joint Base Andrews for his final trip home to Kansas. It will arrive at the Salina Regional Airport Friday evening and it will be received by a Kansas delegation led by Governor Laura Kelly.
On Saturday at 11 a.m., Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall and former Senator Pat Roberts will offer tributes at a public memorial service at St. Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Russell. The public will be allowed to pass by the casket to pay respects. At 1 p.m., the casket will leave the church and it will be taken to Topeka.
Dole’s casket will arrive in Topeka around 4 Saturday afternoon and he will lie in state at the Kansas State Capitol. A public ceremony will be held in the Capitol Rotunda and it will include tributes by Governor Kelly, Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall, former Senator Nancy Kassebaum and former Congressman Jim Slattery.
After the service, Senator Dole’s casket and family members will return to Washington, D.C. Internment details will be announced later.
[ image – robertdole.org ]
