Long time Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii died yesterday at the age of 88. Sen. Inouye represented the State of Hawaii, first as a Representative and then as a Senator, since Hawaii was admitted to the Union in 1959. As the longest serving member of the Senate (pro tem), he was third in line of Presidential succession.
The Senator's ancestors emigrated to Hawaii from Japan in the 1880s. As a Nisei during World War II, Sen. Inouye was barred from serving in the military until the ban was lifted in 1943. He joined the famous all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most highly decorated unit in U.S. history. Inouye lost an arm fighting against the Nazis in Italy, and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery. While recovering from his war wounds, Sen. Inouye met Robert Dole, later Senator from Kansas and 1996 Republican Presidential candidate, and began a life-long friendship that bridged parties.
The scene in the Senate yesterday was somber:
"Less than an hour after Inouye’s passing, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Inouye’s death to a stunned chamber. 'Our friend Daniel Inouye has died,' Reid said somberly. Shocked members of the Senate stood in the aisles or slumped in their chairs."The Senate is diminished by the passing of another member of the greatest generation.
