Daniel Inouye

Daniel K. Inouye 井上 建
United States Senator from Hawaii
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 1963 Serving with Daniel Akaka
Preceded by	Oren E. Long
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office  June 28, 2010[1]
Preceded by	Robert Byrd
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Robert Byrd
Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Preceded by	Committee created
Succeeded by	Birch Bayh
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995 January 3, 2001 – January 20, 2001 June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Mark Andrews (1987) Ben N. Campbell (2001) Ben N. Campbell (2001)
Succeeded by	John McCain (1995) Ben N. Campbell (2001) Ben N. Campbell (2003)
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Ted Stevens
Succeeded by	Jay Rockefeller
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii's At-large district
In office August 21, 1959 – January 3, 1963
Preceded by	Position created
Succeeded by	Thomas Ponce Gill
Member of the Hawaii Territorial Senate
In office 1958–1959
Member of the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives
In office 1954–1958
Born	September 7, 1924 (1924-09-07) (age 86) Honolulu, Hawaii
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Margaret Shinobu Awamura (1949–2006) (died) Irene Hirano (2008–present)
Residence	Honolulu, Hawaii
Alma mater	University of Hawaii at Manoa (B.A.) George Washington University Law School (J.D.)
Occupation	attorney
Religion	Methodist
Signature
Website	Senator Daniel K. Inouye
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1943–1947
Rank	Captain
Unit	442nd Regimental Combat Team
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Medal of Honor Bronze Star Purple Heart WWII Victory Medal

Daniel Ken "Dan" Inouye (pronounced /ɨˈnoʊweɪ/;^[2] Japanese: 井上 建, Inoue Ken; born September 7, 1924) is an American politician who is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate^[1] making him the highest-ranking Asian-American politician in American history.^[3] He is the chairman of the influential United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. He is a Democrat.

Inouye has been a U.S. Senator since 1963 and is currently the most senior member of Senate after the death of fellow Democrat Robert Byrd. He is also the second longest serving U.S Senator in history after Byrd. Inouye has continuously represented Hawaii in the U.S. Congress since it achieved statehood in 1959, serving as Hawaii's first U.S. Representative and later a senator. Inouye was the first Japanese-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the first in the U.S. Senate. He is the second-oldest senator after Frank Lautenberg. He is also a recipient of the United States Medal of Honor.

Personal history

Inouye was born on September 7, 1924 in Honolulu, Hawaii, the son of Kame (née Imanaga) and Hyotaro Inouye.^[4] He is a Sansei Japanese-American (an American-born grandchild of Japanese immigrants) and grew up in the Bingham Tract, a Chinese-American enclave within the predominantly Japanese-American community of Mo'ili'ili in Honolulu.

He was at the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941 as a medical volunteer.^[5]

In 1943, when the U.S. Army dropped its ban on Japanese-Americans, Inouye curtailed his premedical studies at the University of Hawaii and enlisted in the Army.^[5] He was assigned to the Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which became the most-highly decorated unit in the history of the 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 upgraded, by President Clinton in June 2000, to the Medal of Honor.^[6]

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 Campaign 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 there. At one point while leading an attack a shot struck him in the chest directly above his heart, but the bullet was stopped by the two silver dollars he happened to have stacked in his shirt pocket. He continued to carry the coins throughout the war in his shirt pocket as good luck charms.

Assault on Colle Musatello

Inouye as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army

On April 21, 1945, Inouye was grievously wounded while leading an assault on a heavily-defended ridge near Terenzo called Colle Musatello. The ridge served as a strongpoint along the strip of German fortifications known as the Gothic Line, which represented the last and most dogged line of German defensive works in Italy. As he led his platoon in a flanking maneuver, three German machine guns opened fire from covered positions just 40 yards away, pinning his men to the ground. Inouye stood up to attack and was shot in the stomach; ignoring his wound, he proceeded to attack and destroy the first machine gun nest with hand grenades and fire from his M1 Thompson submachine gun. After being informed of the severity of his wound by his platoon sergeant, he refused treatment and rallied his men for an attack on the second machine gun position, which he also successfully destroyed before collapsing from blood loss.

As his squad distracted the third machine gunner, Inouye crawled toward the final bunker, eventually drawing within 10 yards. As he raised himself up and cocked his arm to throw his last grenade into the fighting position, a German inside fired a rifle grenade that struck him on the right elbow, severing most of his arm and leaving the primed grenade reflexively "clenched in a fist that suddenly didn't belong to me anymore".^[7] Inouye's horrified soldiers moved to his aid, but he shouted for them to keep back out of fear his severed fist would involuntarily relax and drop the grenade. As the German inside the bunker reloaded his rifle, Inouye managed to pry the live grenade from his useless right hand and transfer it to his left. As the German aimed his rifle to finish him off, Inouye managed at last to toss the grenade off-hand into the bunker and destroy it. He stumbled to his feet and continued forward, silencing the last German resistance with a one-handed burst from his Thompson before being wounded in the leg and tumbling unconscious to the bottom of the ridge. When he awoke to see the concerned men of his platoon hovering over him, his only comment before being carried away was to gruffly order them return to their positions, since, as he pointed out, "nobody had called off the war".^[7]

The remainder of Inouye's mutilated right arm was later amputated at a field hospital without proper anesthesia, as he had been given too much morphine at an aid station and it was feared any more would lower his blood pressure enough to kill him.^[8] Inouye was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery in this action, with the award later being upgraded to the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton (alongside 21 other Nisei servicemen who served in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and were believed to have been denied proper recognition of their bravery due to their race). His story, along with interviews with him about the war as a whole, were featured prominently in the 2007 Ken Burns documentary The War.^[9]

While recovering from war wounds and the amputation of his right forearm from the grenade wound (mentioned above) at Percy Jones Army Hospital, Inouye met future Republican presidential candidate 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. The two have remained lifelong friends. In 2003, the hospital was renamed the Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center in honor of the two WWII veterans and another U.S. Senator and fellow WWII veteran who had stayed in the hospital, Philip Hart.

In 2007, he was personally inducted as Légion d'honneur Chevalier by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In February 2009, a bill was filed in the Philippine House of Representatives by Rep. Antonio Diaz seeking to confer honorary Filipino citizenship on Inouye, Senators Ted Stevens and Daniel Akaka and Representative Bob Filner, for their role in securing the passage of benefits for Filipino World War II veterans.^[10]

Family

His wife of fifty-seven years, Maggie, died on March 13, 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, California. According to the Honolulu Advertiser, she is 24 years younger than Inouye. On May 27, 2010, Ms. Hirano was elected by the board to chair the nation's 2nd largest non-profit, The Ford Foundation .^[11] Inouye's son Kenny was the guitarist for influential D.C. hardcore punk band Marginal Man.^[12]

Congressional career

Although he lost his right arm in WWII, Inouye remained in the military until 1947 and was honorably discharged with the rank of captain. Due to the loss of his arm, he abandoned his plans to become a surgeon^[5] and returned to college to study political science under the GI Bill. He graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1950 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. He earned his law degree from The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 1953 and was elected into the 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 U.S. House of Representatives as Hawaii's first full member, and took office on August 21, 1959, the same date Hawaii became a state; he was reelected in 1960.

In 1962 Inouye was elected to the U.S. Senate, succeeding fellow Democrat Oren E. Long. He is currently serving his eighth consecutive six-year term, having most recently run against Republican candidate Campbell Cavasso in 2004. He delivered the keynote address at the turbulent 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago,^[5] and 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.

In 2000, Inouye was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan in recognition of his long and distinguished career in public service.^[13]

In 2009, Inouye assumed leadership of the powerful Senate Committee on Appropriations after longtime chairman Robert Byrd stepped down.

In 2010, Inouye announced his decision to run for a ninth term.^[14]

Following Senator Byrd's death on 28 June 2010, Inouye became the longest-serving Senator and President pro tempore of the United States Senate, making him third in the presidential line of succession.

Gang of 14

On May 23, 2005, Inouye was a member of a bipartisan group of fourteen moderate senators, known as the Gang of 14, to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicial filibuster, thus blocking the Republican leadership's attempt to implement the "nuclear option", a means of forcibly ending a filibuster. 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 H. Pryor, Jr.) would receive a vote by the full U.S. Senate.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Defense (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
• Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  • Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee on Science and Space
  • Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
• Committee on Indian Affairs
• Committee on Rules and Administration

Party leadership

• Senate Democratic Steering and Coordination Committee
• United States Senate President Pro Tempore (on June 28, after the death of then-President Pro Tempore Robert Byrd)

Caucuses

• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus

Electoral history

Medal of Honor citation

President Clinton presenting the Medal of Honor to Senator Inouye

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.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
• List of Asian American Medal of Honor recipients
• Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, housed in the Daniel K. Inouye Building
• Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies

References

External links

• "United States Senator Daniel Inouye". Official Senate site. United States Sentate. http://inouye.senate.gov/. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 
• "Dan Inouye for Senate campaign site". http://www.daninouyehawaii.com/. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• "Guantanamo Bay: A First-Hand View of Camp X-Ray". Press Briefing. February 1, 2002. http://fpc.state.gov/7767.htm. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 
• "21 Asian American World War II Vets to Get Medal of Honor". May 19, 2000. http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2000/n05192000_20005191.html. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 

United States Senators from Hawaii Class 1 Fong • Matsunaga • Akaka Class 3 Long • Inouye

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Past and Present Members of the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii One At-large seat (1959-1963) Inouye Two At-large seats (1963-1971) Seat Gill • Mink Seat Matsunaga Districts (1971-present) 1 Matsunaga • Heftel • Abercrombie • Saiki • Abercrombie • Djou • Hanabusa (elect) 2 Mink • Akaka • Mink • Case • Hirono

Chairmen of the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Inouye • Bayh • Goldwater • Durenberger • Boren • DeConcini • Specter • Shelby • Graham • Shelby • Graham • Roberts • Rockefeller • Feinstein