Ollie Manninen

Ollie Manninen, the son of Finnish émigrés, settled in Massachusetts and ran in the Boston Marathon for the decade after World War II, completing the race 18 times. His best finish was fifth in 1948. He competed for the Boston AA and worked in a stove factory in Gardner, Massachusetts.

During World War II Manninen served in the 10th Mountain Division, under General Lucien Truscott. In combat near Castel d’Aiano in April 1945, Manninen saw a fellow soldier taken down by German machine gun fire. He was obviously grievously injured so Manninen risked his own life, under fire, to go 40 metres out onto the field and bring the soldier back to safety in a shell crater where he could be treated.

The man he saved was Bob Dole, who had suffered nerve damage to his right arm that would affect him for the rest of his life. However, this did not prevent Dole from entering politics, serving in the US senate, and serving as the Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1976 and the Republican presidential candidate in 1996, although he did not win either election.

Manninen received the Silver Star for his rescue of Dole, was frequently mentioned by Dole in his speeches, and was publicly thanked by him in his first Presidential debate with future President Bill Clinton. He later included more details of Manninen’s heroism during a speech to the National Italian-American Foundation in Washington, DC. Dole also included the story in his memoir One Soldier’s Story, published in 2005, six years after Manninen’s death at the age of 81. “Ollie’s quick thinking and courageous action probably prevented me from being shredded by the German machine-gunners,” Dole wrote.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-39:59 (1948).