Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) passed away just after 5 p.m. this evening at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, his office said.
His last word was “Aloha.”
Inouye, 88, was the longest-serving senator currently in the upper chamber. Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he was first elected in 1963. He was third in the line of presidential succession as president pro tempore of the chamber; Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) is expected to move into that role.
At the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Army shortly after Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
He served with ‘E’ company of the 442 Regimental Combat Team, a group consisting entirely of Americans of Japanese ancestry. Inouye lost his arm charging a series of machine gun nests on a hill in San Terenzo, Italy, on April 21, 1945. His actions during that battle earned him the Medal of Honor.
Following statehood in 1959, Inouye served as Hawaii’s first congressman and would later be the first chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. His current Senate term was his ninth.
Inouye fainted on the Hill Dec. 6 and was taken to George Washington University Hospital. He was transferred to Walter Reed on Dec. 9.
The cause of death was cited as “respiratory complications.” His wife Irene and his son Ken were at his side. Last rites were performed by Senate Chaplain Dr. Barry Black.
When asked in recent days how he wanted to be remembered, Inouye said, “I represented the people of Hawaii and this nation honestly and to the best of my ability. I think I did OK.”
“Today, the Senate lost a true giant,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said. “Senator Inouye represented with distinction the Greatest Generation.”
“When he was still a soldier, recovering from the loss of an arm in combat, Senator Inouye learned about the Holocaust and began a lifelong attachment to the Jewish people and, later, to Israel,” Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren tweeted. “His dedication to Israel’s security was unswerving. Our people owe him an immense historic debt.”
Democrat.
And, he did much evil while he was in office.
Yes he had a number of less stellar moments. The last couple of decades of his service did not match is WWII contributions.
“On June 21, 2000, Inouye was presented the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton for his service during World War II”
wiki
Hmmm.. He didn’t earn that medal. Nothing that comes decades late and from his own party means jack.
just saying
Sorry to correct you, vangrungy, but he did earn that medal. The 442nd which he served in alongside other Japanese-Americans (some who enlisted out of internment camps) earned every accolade it got and more. It’s easy to find reading about that unit. I suggest you do so as it’s a fascinating read. Agree with his politics or not, he was a hero.
The reason the MoH was given so late is because of political reasons. The 442nd was composed mostly of Japanese-Americans from both Hawaii and the mainland (as well as, if memory serves, the first Korean-American officer ever in the US Army), and the US Army brass didn’t want to give medals to people who looked like the Japanese we were supposed to be fighting.
It does my heart glad to see members of PJM’s esteemed peanut gallery set aside their habitual idolatry of all things U.S Military related to piss all over Veterans’ service records when said Veteran’s political opinions fail to line up with those of said peanut gallery
http://www.change.org/petitions/us-senate-to-stop-discriminating-against-legal-immigrants-from-the-pacific-islands
Oh look, he’s a racist douche as well.
There are some real pissants on this board!
I don’t know for sure how political some of the Clinton CMH awards were, but there’ve been on Helluva lot of political CMH awards, and denials of same, see, e.g., TR, over the years. Suffice it to say that Sen. Inouye left an arm in Italy and spent months in hospital thereafter. I’m reasonably certain that most of those criticizing him have never left anything bodily behind other than stains on a sheet or skid marks in thier shorts.
He represented his state and did so very well. He worked in concert with his friend and fellow WWII vet, Sen. Ted Stevens, to try to help our two former colonial possessions, viciously exploited colonial possessions to be precise, join the modern world. He’ll be mourned by those who knew him; you pissants can think what you want.
Awwww.. isn’t that cute.. welfare for crappy cultures
Well, I’m sure they would have been happier if America lost to Japan.
Ingrates. Especially Guam.
Is there any part of go f*ck yourself you’d have trouble understanding?
A true patriot regardless of his political affilation. He was a warm spirited, soft spoken man of great experiences and gained wisdom. I will miss he and his kind!
God have mercy on him.
Sorry to hear about Senator Dan.
He’s about the only liberal I ever had any respect for.
He was a strong supporter of Israel, ever since (Israeli newspaper “Yediot Aharonot” reports) he met in WWII a soldier in the hospital who helped liberate concentration camps.