'Daniel Ken Inouye' (born
September 7 1924) is a recipient of the
Medal of Honor and currently serves as the senior
United States Senator from
Hawaii. He has been a senator for over forty 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.
Biography
Inouye was born in
Honolulu, the son of
Japanese immigrants, Kame Imananga and Hyotaro Inouye.
[1] He grew up in the "Bingham Tract, a Chinese-American enclave within the the predominantly Japanese-American community of Mo'ili'ili in Honolulu, and was at the
Pearl Harbor attack as a medical volunteer.
[Associated Press (Chicago), ''"Keynoter Knows Sting of Bias, Poverty"''. St. Petersburg Times, August 27, 1968.] Six months later, when the Army dropped its ban on Japanese-Americans serving in the Army, he dropped his premedical studies and in 1943 he 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 and also the
Distinguished Service Cross, which was later to the
Medal of Honor.
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 went to college 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, DC 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 Hawaii's first full member, and took office on
August 21,
1959, when Hawaii 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
March 13,
2006.
"The Gang of 14"
On
May 23,
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."
Trivia
Inouye's son Daniel Ken Inouye, Jr. was a member of 1980s
hardcore punk band
Marginal Man, and briefly discusses his father in the film ''
American Hardcore''.
Coincidentally, the other Senator from Hawaii is
Daniel Akaka. The two Daniels were born four days apart.
Daniel Inouye met
Bob Dole while they were both in
Percy Jones Army Hospital, recovering from wounds suffered in
World War II. Dole mentioned to Inouye while in the hospital 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.
As of 2007, Inouye is the third longest serving current member of the U.S. Senate after
Robert Byrd of West Virginia (since 1959), and
Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts (since 1962).
Since 1977, Inouye has been the only original member of any state delegation still in Congress, having been elected Hawaii's first congressman upon its statehood in 1959.
Inouye was the subject of an epithet during the
Watergate hearings in
1973. At the time, lawyer John Wilson represented
President Nixon’s closest advisers,
H. R. Haldeman and
John Ehrlichman. During a hearing recess, Wilson referred to Inouye as "that little Jap" in a private conversation. The conversation leaked out as Mr. Wilson forgot the
microphone was still on.
[2][3]
Electoral history
'2004 Hawaii United States Senate Election'
| 'Daniel Inouye (D) (inc.) 76%' |
| Campbell Cavasso (R) 21% |
| James Brewer (I) 2% |
| Lloyd Mallan (Lib.) 1% |
'1998 Hawaii United States Senate Election'
| 'Daniel Inouye (D) (inc.) 79.2%' |
| Crystal Young (R) 17.8% |
| Lloyd Mallan (Lib.) 3% |
'1992 Hawaii United States Senate Election'
| 'Daniel Inouye (D) (inc.) 57.3%' |
| Rick Reed (R) 26.9% |
| Linda Martin (Green) 13.7% |
'1986 Hawaii United States Senate Election'
| 'Daniel Inouye (D) (inc.) 70.6%' |
| Frank Hutchinson (R) 26.4% |
'1980 Hawaii United States Senate Election'
'1974 Hawaii United States Senate Election'
| 'Daniel Inouye (D) (inc.) 82.9%' |
| James D. Kimmel (I) 17.1% |
'1968 Hawaii United States Senate Election'
| 'Daniel Inouye (D) (inc.) 83.4%' |
| Wayne C. Thiessen (R) 15% |
'1962 Hawaii United States Senate Elections'
| 'Daniel Inouye (D) 69.4%' |
| Ben Dillingham (R) 30.6% |
See also
★
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, housed in the 'Daniel K. Inouye Building'
Footnotes
1. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/senators/inouye.htm
2. Headline: Watergate Hearings / Inouye, Wilson
3. NBC Evening News for Wednesday, Aug 01, 1973
External links
★
United States Senator Daniel Inouye 'official Senate site'
★
★
Federal Election Commission — Daniel K Inouye campaign finance reports and data
★
On the Issues — Daniel Inouye issue positions and quotes
★
OpenSecrets.org — Daniel K. Inouye campaign contributions
★
Project Vote Smart — Senator Daniel K. Inouye (HI) profile
★
SourceWatch Congresspedia — Daniel Inouye profile
★
Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Daniel Inouye voting record
★
21 Asian American World War II Vets to Get Medal of Honor May 19, 2000
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