There couldn’t be a better figure to represent Kansas in the nation’s Capitol.

It’s great to see Ike back in Washington.

A bronze statue of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the nation’s 34th president, was unveiled last week in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. It replaces a statue of George Washington Glick, a mostly forgotten former governor of Kansas. With all due respect to Glick and his ancestors, the striking bronze of Eisenhower, who grew up in Abilene, is a far more vibrant and compelling image to represent Kansas in the National Statuary Hall.

The beautifully rendered bronze by Lawrence resident Jim Brothers captures Eisenhower in his World War II uniform and was inspired by a photo of the general addressing paratroopers just before the D-Day invasion. Brothers has made Lawrence proud with his realistic and emotional work related to D-Day and World War II, and the Eisenhower statue conveys the image of a determined leader who represented Kansas well as a general and as a president.

It also was good to see former Sen. Bob Dole back in action at the Capitol during the unveiling. The upcoming dedication of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at Kansas University will offer another opportunity to honor Dole and celebrate the generation that carried America through World War II.

Lawrence and Kansas are fortunate to have such strong ties to some of the nation’s most respected leaders.