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Daniel Inouye

is an American politician who currently serves as the senior United States Senator from Hawaii. He has been a senator for forty-five years, since 1963, a distinction that few senators have achieved, and is currently the third most senior member, after fellow Democrats Robert Byrd (West Virginia) and Ted Kennedy (Massachusetts). He was Hawaii's first representative after it became a state. He was also the first American of Japanese descent to serve in the United States House of Representatives and later the first in the Senate. He is a member of the Democratic Party and has continuously represented Hawaii in the United States Congress since it achieved statehood in 1959. He is also a recipient of the Medal of Honor.

Biography

Inouye was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, a Nisei Japanese American, son of Kame Imanaga and Hyotaro Inouye. He grew up in the Bingham Tract, a Chinese-American enclave within the predominantly Japanese-American community of Mo'ili'ili in Honolulu, and was at the Pearl Harbor attack as a medical volunteer. In 1943, when the Army dropped its ban on Japanese-Americans serving in the Army, Inouye curtailed his premedical studies at the University of Hawaii and enlisted in the Army. He was assigned to the Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which became the most highly-decorated unit in the history of the U.S. Army. During the World War II campaign in Europe he received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, and the Distinguished Service Cross, which was later Daniel Inouye citation to the Medal of Honor.

Inouye was promoted to the rank of sergeant within his first year, and he was given the role of platoon leader. He served in Italy in 1944 during the Rome Arno Campaigns before he was shifted to the Vosges Mountains region of France, where he spent two weeks searching for the Lost Battalion, a Texas battalion that was surrounded by German forces. He was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant for his actions here. He was nearly killed in an assault in Italy in 1945, which saw Inouye survive a bullet wound to the abdomen and a point blank attack by a German grenade, during a misson where Inouye advanced alone toward a German gun post to protect his surrounded men.

While recovering from World War II wounds in Percy Jones Army Hospital, Inouye met Bob Dole, then a fellow patient. Dole mentioned to Inouye that after the war he planned to go to Congress. Inouye beat him there by a few years. Despite being members of different political parties, the two lawmakers remain life-long friends. Percy Jones Army Hospital later became a Federal Center and, in 2003, was renamed the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in honor of the two men and another senator who had stayed in the hospital, Philip Hart.

Although he lost his right arm in the war, he remained in the military until 1947, discharged with the rank of captain. Due to the loss of his arm, he abandoned his plans to become a surgeon and returned to college to study political science on the GI Bill. He graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1950 with a B.A. in political science. He earned his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1953 and was elected into Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. Soon afterward he was elected to the territorial legislature, of which he was a member until shortly before Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959. He won a seat in the United States House of Representatives as Hawai'i's first full member, and took office on 21 August 1959, when Hawai'i became a state. He was reelected in 1960.

In 1962 he was elected to the United States Senate, succeeding fellow Democratic Sen. Oren E. Long. He has been re-elected every six years since then, most recently in 2004. He delivered the keynote address at the turbulent 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He gained national attention for his service on the Senate Watergate Committee. He was chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence from 1975 until 1979, and chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs from 1987 until 1995 and from 2001 until 2003. Inouye was also involved in the Iran Contra investigations of the 1980s, chairing a special committee from 1987 until 1989. He was a candidate for reelection to the Senate in 2004 and easily defeated his Republican opponent, Campbell Cavasso.

His wife of fifty-seven years, Maggie, died on 13 March 2006. On May 24, 2008, he married Irene Hirano in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills, California. Ms. Hirano is president and chief executive officer of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

Gang of 14

On 23 May 2005, Inouye was one of fourteen moderate senators to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus blocking the Republican leadership's attempt to implement the "nuclear option". Under the agreement, the Democrats would retain the power to filibuster a Bush judicial nominee only in an "extraordinary circumstance", and the three most conservative Bush appellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown, Priscilla Owen and William Pryor) would receive a vote by the full Senate.

Medal of Honor citation

"Second Lieutenant Daniel K. Inouye distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 21 April 1945, in the vicinity of San Terenzo, Italy. While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, Second Lieutenant Inouye skillfully directed his platoon through a hail of automatic weapon and small arms fire, in a swift enveloping movement that resulted in the capture of an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force. Emplaced in bunkers and rock formations, the enemy halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Second Lieutenant Inouye crawled up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying the emplacement. Before the enemy could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper’s bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions. In the attack, 25 enemy soldiers were killed and eight others captured. By his gallant, aggressive tactics and by his indomitable leadership, Second Lieutenant Inouye enabled his platoon to advance through formidable resistance, and was instrumental in the capture of the ridge. Second Lieutenant Inouye’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.