Daniel Inouye

Daniel Inouye Official Photo 2009

Daniel Ken Inouye (September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. Representative for the State of Hawaii. A member of the Democratic Party, he was President pro tempore of the United States Senate (and therefore third in the presidential line of succession) from 2010 until his death.

Inouye served in the U.S. Army's highly-decorated 442nd Infantry Regiment during World War II, despite his family being among the Japanese-Americans interned due to racist paranoia about their loyalties to the United States. Inouye received the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in combat, which was upgraded on June 21, 2000 to the Medal of Honor.

Quotes

And when I read the citation, that's when I got in touch with some of my former platoon members, and I said, 'What really happened? I must know.' And when my platoon members told me that, I said, 'No, it can't be. It can't be. You have to be insane to do all that.'

1980s

• There exists a shadowy government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself.
  • Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition (Iran-Contra hearings) (1987)
  • Video of Inouye's excerpt
  • Daniel K. Inouye: Reference of excerpt
  • The Mission of Sheltron: Reference

2000s

Beyond Glory (2003) interview

Note: Edited interview transcript featured in Beyond Glory: Medal of Honor Heroes in their Own Words (2003) by Larry Smith, New York: W.W. Norton & Company, hardcover, pages 37-52.

• It was a terrible thing to even suggest this, but many of us in the regiment felt that this was the definitive battle, that we were expendable. That's why we were called up to save them. But we felt that, if we did well, then the curse would be taken away once and for all. And so, you can sense this in the men: When you go into a battle and they put on the bayonet, you know they mean business. So we meant business. When you put on a bayonet, that's do or die. Our motto was: Go for Broke, which is, I suppose, a slang phrase that young gamblers used to use back in Hawaii. Go for Broke means All the Way. This was a Shoot the Works battle. That means you put on the bayonet. You're going to get them no matter what the cost. Absolutely. The cost was heavy.
  • p. 47

• I was young and, keep in mind, you got the macho spirit, I suppose. I carried a Thompson submachine gun. Not because it was accurate- the Thompson is about as inaccurate a weapon as you can find. But it's got a loud noise, oh, ho ho. If you're on the other side and you hear all this- Brrraahhhh!- you know, it will scare the bejeebers out of you. And if it does it, you know you've been hit. It's a .45-caliber slug. I recall hitting a German once and in his ankle and his foot blew off, shoe and all. That's how powerful it is. I carried it for stopping power. I also had a sidearm plus a bag of grenades.
  • p. 47

• When I received my Distinguished Service Cross, I must tell you that I couldn't believe it. I said, 'What's this for?' They said, 'It's for all you did there.' And when I read the citation, that's when I got in touch with some of my former platoon members, and I said, 'What really happened? I must know.' They told me that, after I threw my grenade, I picked up my tommy gun with my left hand- keep in mind that my stump is bleeding now- and I just charged up to the third gun, and I knocked that one out. I was going for the next one and I got hit in the leg, and I rolled down the hill, and that's when I woke up, I guess. And when my platoon members told me that, I said, 'No, it can't be. It can't be. You have to be insane to do all that.' I think it's all part of the training where you do things almost automatically. It's a sense of duty. That's what they told me, and the company commander who was also observing from the backside, he said, 'I couldn't believe what I saw, because you were a crazy man.'
  • p. 49

Quotes about Inouye

Inouye Hall rifle range at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina

• For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 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.
  • Citation for the Medal of Honor awarded to Inouye, originally awarded as the Distinguished Service Cross, upgraded to the Medal of Honor and presented by President Bill Clinton at the White House, Washington, D.C., on 21 June 2000[1]

• Daniel Inouye came home a captain minus one arm on his discharge May 27, 1947. Along with the Distinguished Service Cross, he held a Bronze Star, Purple Heart with cluster, and twelve other medals and citations. His Distinguished Service Cross, awarded for the action in which he lost his arm, was upgraded to the Medal of Honor at the White House on June 21, 2000. President Clinton approved the Army's recommendation to upgrade twenty-one Distinguished Service Crosses awarded to Asian-Americans in World War II to Medals of Honor.
  In 1950, he graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in economics and government. In 1952 he graduated from George Washington University Law School, and in 1959 became Hawaii's first United States congressman when he was elected to the House of Representatives. He was elected to the Senate in 1962 and has served for more than forty years. He wed Margaret Shinobu Awamura on June 12, 1948. They have a son, Daniel Jr.
  An official apology for the government's wrongdoing was issued to Japanese-Americans by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. He also approved $20,000 in reparations for each internee.
  • Larry Smith, Beyond Glory: Medal of Honor Heroes in their Own Words (2003), New York: W.W. Norton & Company, hardcover, p. 52