American flags will fly at half-staff through sunset on Thursday, Dec. 9, in honor of former U.S. senator and majority leader Robert Joseph Dole, following a proclamation by current President Joseph Biden.
Biden praised Dole as "a statesman like few in our history and a war hero" in making the Dec. 5 proclamation.
A Republican senator from Kansas for 27 years as well as a member of the House of Represenatives for eight more, Dole earned recognition from both sides of the political aisle for his bipartisan efforts and championing rights for those with disabilties. A World War II veteran of the 10th Mountain Division who survived serious battlefield wounds in Italy, he passed away on Dec. 5 at 98 years old.