Dole confident United States will rise to the occasion

Former U.S. senator Bob Dole said he's confident this generation will rise to the occasion and defeat terrorism.

"You can never show what you're made of until you're tested," Dole said.

Dole's speech was the keynote at Generations In Valor, a daylong event Wednesday honoring World War II veterans.

More than 950 high-school students representing 28 schools and more than 100 veterans from all wars attended the events at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. The students listened as letters written during World War II were read aloud and asked questions of their newfound friends.

Project Hope, a faith-based mentoring program, helped coordinate the program. The goal was to get members of "The Greatest Generation" to mentor members of "Generation Next," said Project Hope assistant coordinator Bettie Sayers.

"We had been sitting around for months trying to figure out how to inspire young people to understand basic feelings of patriotism," Sayers said.

"Then it all happened in 30 minutes," she said, referring to the events of Sept. 11.

Teens and seniors mingled Wednesday, poring over old newspapers at the Stars and Stripes exhibit and chatting about the common ground they share in America's new war.

Dole, a World War II hero who does commercials for Pepsi and Viagra, knows a little about erasing the lines between generations.

Introduced by Southeast Missouri State University president Ken Dobbins as "an American patriot who's done his share" in turning back threats to the country's freedom, Dole said each generation "must define and sometimes defend" its own place in history.

A U.S. Army veteran, Dole served from 1943 to 1948 as 10th Mountain Division platoon leader in Italy. He was wounded twice and lost use of his right arm as a result of his injuries.

He said last year, when he stood on the Mall in Washington D.C. after helping raise more than $183 million for a monument to World War II veterans, he never dreamed a new generation would be called to serve in the same way.

The United States is an impatient country that likes results, he said. But Dole said he has faith the country will get them.

He told the story of how, at 18, he'd never been on an airplane, bus or train and hoped to become a doctor.

Dec. 7, 1941, changed all that. He grew up quickly and went to war.

He described his generation as "ordinary Americans" unexpectedly caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

Today's generation is no different.

"In a single, terrible day, we lost more Americans than died in the American Revolution" or died on the beaches of Normandy, Dole said of the attacks Sept. 11. Because of that, the country has become united.

"We're not Republicans or Democrats," he said. "We're patriots."

As an example, Dole said he recently did a public service announcement with former President Bill Clinton, who defeated Dole in a bitter 1996 battle for the presidency.

He said since Sept. 11, people have a clearer idea of what it means to be a hero and use the word more carefully. They save it for those who risk or give up their lives trying to protect others.

Sports figures and movie stars don't qualify.

"I love Mark McGwire," he said. "But he's a celebrity."

For additional pictures of Generations in Valor.

abuchanan@semissourian.com

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