Dan Inouye | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Official portrait, 2009 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office June 28, 2010 – December 17, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Robert Byrd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Patrick Leahy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 43rdDean of the United States Senate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office June 28, 2010 – December 17, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Robert Byrd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Patrick Leahy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| United States Senator fromHawaii | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office January 3, 1963 – December 17, 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Oren Long | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Brian Schatz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromHawaii'sat-large district | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office August 21, 1959 – January 3, 1963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | John Burns (Delegate) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Thomas Gill | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Daniel Ken Inouye (1924-09-07)September 7, 1924 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | December 17, 2012(2012-12-17) (aged 88) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resting place | National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Democratic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouses | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch/service |  United States Army | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1943–1947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | Captain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | 442nd Regimental Combat Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | World War II (WIA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Daniel Ken Inouye (/iːˈnoʊˌeɪ/ee-NOH-ay,[1]Japanese:井上 建,[2] September 7, 1924 – December 17, 2012) was an American attorney, soldier, and statesman from the state ofHawaii. A Democrat, Inouye served in Hawaii's territorial House of Representatives and territorial Senate, and he also served in theUnited States House of Representatives and theUnited States Senate. Inouye is known for his World War II heroism and for his longevity in public service; he served in the U.S. Senate for 49 years.
Inouyefought inWorld War II as part of the442nd Infantry Regiment. He lost his right arm to a grenade wound and received several military decorations, including theMedal of Honor (the nation's highest military award). Inouye later earned aJ.D. degree fromGeorge Washington University Law School.
Returning to Hawaii, Inouye was elected to Hawaii'sterritorialHouse of Representatives in 1953 and was elected to theterritorial Senate in 1957. When Hawaiiachievedstatehood in 1959, Inouye was elected as its first member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962. Inouye was the second Asian American U.S. senator in history, following Hawaii RepublicanHiram Fong. Because of his seniority, Inouye became president pro tempore of the Senate following the death ofRobert Byrd on June 28, 2010, making him third in thepresidential line of succession after the vice president and the speaker of the House of Representatives. Inouye continued to serve in the U.S. Senate until his death in 2012. He never lost an election in 58 years as an elected official, and he exercised an exceptionally large influence on Hawaii politics.
Inouye was a posthumous recipient of thePresidential Medal of Freedom and theOrder of the Paulownia Flowers. Among other public structures named after Inouye, Honolulu International Airport has since been renamedDaniel K. Inouye International Airport in his memory.
Daniel Ken Inouye was born inHonolulu,Territory of Hawaii on September 7, 1924.[3] His father, Hyotaro Inouye, was a jeweler[4] who had immigrated to Hawaii from Japan as a child.[5] His mother, Kame (née Imanaga) Inouye, was a homemaker[4] born onMaui to Japanese immigrants.[6] Her parents died young, and she was adopted and raised by a family in Honolulu. Both of Daniel's parents were Christians. They met at the River Street Methodist Church in Honolulu and married in 1923.[3] Inouye was aNisei (second-generation Japanese-American) through his father and aSansei (third-generation) through his mother. He was named after his mother's adoptive father.[3]
Inouye grew up in Bingham Tract, aChinese-American enclave in Honolulu.[7] He was raised Christian,[8] and was the oldest of four children.[9] As a child, Inouye collectedhoming pigeons, which were hatched from eggs given to him at an army base inSchofield Barracks in return for Inouye cleaning the coops. As a teenager, he worked on the local beaches teaching tourists how to surf.[10] Inouye's parents raised him and his siblings with a mix of American and Japanese customs. His parents spoke English at home, but had their children attend a private Japanese language school in addition to public school.[11] Inouye dropped out of the Japanese school in 1939 because he disagreed with his instructor's anti-American rhetoric, and focused on his studies atPresident William McKinley High School.[12] Inouye intended to go to college and medical school after his planned 1942 graduation.[13]
Inouye witnessed theattack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, while still a high school senior.[14] The Japanese surprise attack brought the United States intoWorld War II. Being a volunteer first aid instructor with theRed Cross, he was called on by his supervisor to report to a Red Cross station set up at Lunalilo Elementary School.[15] There, Inouye tended to civilians injured by antiaircraft shells that had fallen into the city. After the United States declared war on Japan the next day, Inouye took up a paid job from his Red Cross supervisor to work there as a medical aide. For the rest of his senior year, Inouye attended school during the day and worked at the Red Cross station at night.[16] He graduated from McKinley High School in 1942.[17]
Although Inouye wanted to join the Armed Forces when he completed high school, Japanese-Americans were excluded from doing so at that time. Beginning in February 1942, theUnited States Department of War had declared all Japanese-Americans as "enemy aliens", which meant they could not volunteer or be drafted for military service (an exception was made for the previously established 298th and 299th Infantry Regiments, which became the100th Infantry Battalion in 1942).[18][19] Inouye enrolled at theUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in September 1942 as a premedical student with the goal of becoming a surgeon.[18]
In March 1943, U.S. PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt established the442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Nisei combat unit. Inouye applied and was initially turned down because his work at the Red Cross was deemed critical, but was inducted later that month.[20] The unit was composed of over 2,500Nisei from Hawaii, and 800 from the mainland. Inouye went with his unit in April toCamp Shelby inMississippi for a 10-month training period, postponing his medical studies.[20] While in Mississippi, the unit visited theRohwer War Relocation Center inArkansas, where Inouye witnessed theinternment of Japanese Americans first hand.[21]
The 442nd shipped off to Italy in May 1944 after the conclusion of their training,[22] shortly before the liberation ofRome.[23] Inouye was promoted to sergeant within the first three months of fighting in the Italian countryside north of Rome.[24][23] The 442nd was then sent to eastern France, where they seized the towns ofBruyères,Belmont, andBiffontaine from the Germans.[24] In late October, the regiment was transferred to theVosges Mountains region of France, where they rescued 211 members of the 1st Battalion of the141st Infantry Regiment, otherwise known as the "Lost Battalion".[24] Inouye received abattlefield commission tosecond lieutenant for his actions there, becoming the youngest officer in his regiment.[25][23] During the battle, a shot struck him in the chest directly above his heart, but the bullet was stopped by the twosilver dollars he happened to have stacked in his shirt pocket.[26] He continued to carry the coins throughout the war in his shirt pocket as good luck charms, but lost them later, shortly before the battle in which he lost his arm.[27] The 442nd spent the next several months nearNice, guarding the French-Italian border until early 1945, when they were called to Northern Italy to assist with an assault on German strongholds in theApennine Mountains.[25]
On April 21, 1945, Inouye was grievously wounded while leading an assault on the heavily defended Colle Musatello ridge near San Terenzo Monti, Tuscany, Italy. The ridge served as a strongpoint of the German fortifications known as theGothic Line, the last and most unyielding line of German defensive works in Italy. During aflanking maneuver against German machine gun nests, Inouye was shot in the stomach from 40 yards away. Ignoring his wound, Inouye proceeded with the attack and together with the unit, destroyed the first two machine gun nests. As his squad distracted the third machine gunner, the injured Inouye crawled toward the final bunker and came within 10 yards. As he prepared to toss a grenade within, a German soldier fired out a 30 mmSchiessbecherantipersonnel rifle grenade at Inouye, striking Inouye in the right elbow. Although it failed to detonate, the blunt force of the grenadeamputated most of his right arm at the elbow. The nature of the injury caused Inouye's arm muscles to involuntarily squeeze the grenade tightly via areflex arc, preventing his arm from going limp and dropping a live grenade at his feet. This injury left Inouye disabled, in terrible pain, under fire with minimal cover and staring at a live grenade "clenched in a fist that suddenly didn't belong to me anymore."[28]
Inouye's platoon moved to his aid, but Inouye 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 began reloading his rifle with regularfull metal jacket ammunition to finish off Inouye, Inouye pried the live hand grenade from his useless right hand with his left, and tossed it into the bunker, killing the German. Stumbling to his feet, Inouye continued forward, killing at least one more German before sustaining his fifth and final wound of the day in his left leg. Inouye fell unconscious, and awoke to see the worried men of his platoon hovering over him. His only comment before being carried away was to gruffly order them back to their positions, saying "Nobody called off the war!"[29] By the end of the day, the ridge had fallen to American control, without the loss of any soldiers in Inouye's platoon.[30] The remainder of Inouye's mutilated right arm was lateramputated at afield hospital without proper anesthesia, as he had been given too muchmorphine at an aid station and it was feared any more would lower his blood pressure enough to kill him.[31] The war in Europe ended on May 8, less than three weeks later.[30]
Shortly before the Japanese surrender and end of World War II in August 1945, Inouye was shipped back to the United States to recover for eleven months at a rehabilitation center for wounded soldiers inAtlantic City, New Jersey.[30] In mid-1946, Inouye was transferred to thePercy Jones Army Hospital inBattle Creek, Michigan, to continue his rehabilitation for nine more months.[30] While recovering there, Inouye met futureRepublican senator and presidential candidateBob Dole, then a fellow patient.[30] The two became friends and would often playbridge together. Dole shared with Inouye his long-term plans to attend law school and become an attorney, and later run for state legislature and eventually theUnited States Congress. With Inouye's plans to become a surgeon dashed due to his injury, Dole's plans for a career in public service inspired Inouye to consider entering politics.[32] Inouye ultimately beat Dole to congress. The two remained lifelong friends. In 2003, the hospital was renamed theHart–Dole–Inouye Federal Center in honor of the two World War IIveterans, as well asDemocratic senatorPhilip Hart, who had been a patient at the hospital after sustaining injuries onD-Day.[33]
Inouye washonorably discharged with the rank ofcaptain in May 1947 after 20 months of rehabilitation.[34] At the time, he was a recipient of theBronze Star Medal,[35]Distinguished Service Cross, and threePurple Hearts.[30] Many in his regiment believed that, were he not Japanese-American, he would have been awarded theMedal of Honor, the nation's highest military award.[30] Inouye eventually received the Medal of Honor on June 21, 2000, from PresidentBill Clinton, along with 19 other Japanese American servicemen in the 442nd.[36][37]
Inouye decided to study law, hoping that doing so would lead him into a political career.[38] He enrolled at theUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in late 1947 as a prelaw student, majoring in government and economics.[39] Inouye relied on the financial benefits of theG.I. Bill to fund his education.[39] When not in class, he volunteered for theDemocratic Party at the Honolulu County Democratic Committee. Inouye had been talked into joining the party byJohn A. Burns, a former police captain and future governor, who had ties to the Japanese American community. Though the territory of Hawaii had been politically dominated by the Republican Party, Burns convinced Inouye that the Democratic Party could help Japanese Hawaiians achieve social and economic reform.[39]
After graduating in 1950, Inouye moved with his wife to Washington D.C. so he could continue his studies atGeorge Washington University Law School.[38] While there, Inouye volunteered at theDemocratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters to gain more experience to bring back with him to Hawaii.[38] Inouye earned hisJ.D. degree in two years, and moved back with his wife to Hawaii in late 1952.[38] Inouye spent the next year studying for the Hawaiibar exam and volunteering with the Democratic Party. After passing the bar exam in August 1953, Inouye was appointed assistant public prosecutor for the city and county of Honolulu by the city mayor and fellow DemocratJohn Wilson.[40]
At the urging of Burns, Inouye successfully ran for theHawaii Territorial House of Representatives in the November 1954 election, representing the Fourth District.[41] The election came to be known as theHawaii Democratic Revolution of 1954, as the long-entrenched Republican control of theHawaii Territorial Legislature abruptly ended with a wave of Democratic candidates taking their seats. The election also filled the legislature with Japanese-American politicians, who previously held few seats.[42] Inouye was immediately elected majority leader. He served two terms there, and was elected to the Hawaii territorial senate in 1957. Midway through Inouye's first term,Hawaii achieved statehood. He won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as Hawaii's first full member, and took office August 21, 1959, the same date Hawaii became a state. Inouye was re-elected in 1960. While in the House of Representatives, Inouye voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1960[43] and for the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[44]
In 1962, Inouye was elected to the U.S. Senate, succeeding retiring fellow DemocratOren E. Long.[45]
Inouye was the chairman of theSenate Intelligence Committee between 1976 and 1979 and the chairman of the SenateIndian Affairs Committee between 1987 and 1995. He introduced theNational Museum of the American Indian Act in 1984, which led to the opening of theNational Museum of the American Indian in 2004. Inouye was chairman of theSenate Indian Affairs Committee between 2001 and 2003, chairman of theSenate Commerce Committee between 2007 and 2009, and chairman of theSenate Appropriations Committee between 2009 and 2012.
Inouye voted in favor of theCivil Rights Act of 1964[46]Civil Rights Act of 1968,[47] and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.[48]
In August 1968, PresidentLyndon B. Johnson placed a phone call to vice president and Democratic presumptive presidential nomineeHubert Humphrey, urging him to select Inouye as his running mate.[49] Johnson went as far as to request a background check on Inouye from theFederal Bureau of Investigation.[50] Johnson told Humphrey that Inouye's World War II injuries would silence Humphrey's critics on theVietnam War: "He answers Vietnam with that empty sleeve. He answers your problems with (Republican presumptive presidential nominee and former vice president Richard) Nixon with that empty sleeve", Johnson said.[49] Humphrey eventually choseEdmund Muskie as his running mate, and lost theelection.[51] According to his chief of staff, Jennifer Sabas, Inouye knew that he was being considered as a vice presidential pick, but was uninterested in the possibility, apparently content with his Senate position.[52]
Inouye delivered the keynote address at the turbulent1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago[53] and gained national attention for his service on theSenate Watergate Committee.
Inouye was also involved in theIran-Contra investigations of the 1980s, chairing a special committee (Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition) from 1987 until 1989. In his closing statement of the hearings, Inouye commented that the investigations had revealed the participants' alternative vision of government, saying:
That of a secret government, directed principally by NSC staffers, accountable to not a single elected official, including apparently the President himself—a shadowy Government with its own Air Force, its own Navy, its own fundraising mechanism, and the ability to pursue its own ideas of the national interest, free from all checks and balances, and free from the law itself.[54]
Criticizing the logic of Marine Lt. ColonelOliver North's justifications for his actions in the affair, Inouye made reference to the Nuremberg trials, provoking a heated interruption from North's attorneyBrendan Sullivan, an exchange that was widely repeated in the media at the time. He was also seen as a pro-Taiwan senator and helped in forming theTaiwan Relations Act.
On May 1, 1977, Inouye stated thatPresident Carter had telephoned him to express his objections to a sentence in the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the Central Intelligence Agency.[55]
In 1986, West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd opted to run for Senate Majority Leader, believing that his two opponents to claiming the position would be Inouye and Louisiana SenatorJ. Bennett Johnston. Cutting a deal with Inouye, Byrd pledged that he would step aside from the position in 1989 if Inouye supported him for Senate Majority Leader of the100th United States Congress. Inouye accepted the offer and was given the chance to select the new Senate sergeant-at-arms.[56]
On November 20, 1993, Inouye voted against theNorth American Free Trade Agreement.[57] The trade agreement linked the United States, Canada, and Mexico into a single free trade zone and was signed into law on December 8 by PresidentBill Clinton.[58]
In 2009, Inouye assumed leadership of the powerfulSenate Committee on Appropriations after longtime chairmanRobert Byrd stepped down. Following the latter's death on June 28, 2010, Inouye was electedPresident pro tempore, the officer third in thepresidential line of succession. Inouye was the highest an Asian American had reached in the line of succession until the Vice-Presidency ofKamala Harris.
In 2010, Inouye announced his decision to run for a ninth term.[59] He easily won the Democratic primary—the real contest in heavily Democratic Hawaii — and then won against Republican state representativeCampbell Cavasso with 74 percent of the vote.
Inouye ran forSenate Majority Leader several times without success.[60]
Prior to his death, Inouye announced that he planned to run for a record tenth term in 2016, when he would have been 92 years old.[61][62] Inouye also said,
I have told my staff and I have told my family that when the time comes, when you question my sanity or question my ability to do things physically or mentally, I don't want you to hesitate, do everything to get me out of here, because I want to make certain the people of Hawaii get the best representation possible.[63]
At the time of his death in December 2012, Inouye was the second-longest-tenured U.S. senator in history (behindRobert Byrd).[64] He served in the Senate for 49 years.[65]
In early 1981, Inouye called for tighter restrictions on what Americans can ship overseas, citing his belief that American international stature would be harmed along with the country's foreign policy interests in the event of the shipments causing environmental damage.[66]
In March 1981, Inouye was one of 24 elected officials to issue a joint statement calling on the Reagan administration to compose a method of finding a peaceful solution that would endThe Troubles in Northern Ireland.[67]
In July 1981, a Federal commission began hearings to decide on rewarding compensations to Japanese-Americans placed in internment camps during World War II, Inouye and fellow Hawaii SenatorSpark M. Matsunaga delivering opening statements.[68] In November, during an appearance at the opening of a 10-day public forum at Tufts University on Japanese internment, Inouye stated his opposition to distributing reparation fees for Japanese-Americans previously incarcerated during World War II, adding that it "would be insulting even to try to do so."[69] In August 1988, Inouye attended President Reagan's signing of legislation apologizing for the internment camps and establishing a $1.25 billion trust fund to pay reparations to both those who were placed in camps and to their families.[70] In September 1989, during the Senate's debate over bestowing reparations to Japanese-Americans interned during World War II, Inouye delivered his first public speech on the issue and noted $22,000 were bestowed to each captive American in theIran hostage crisis.[71]
In October 2002, Inouye was one of 23 senators who voted againstauthorization of the use of military force in Iraq.[72]
In March 1982, amid controversy surrounding Democratic SenatorHarrison A. Williams' taking bribes in theAbscam sting operation,[73] Inouye delivered a closing defense argument stating the possibility of the Senate looking foolish in the event the conviction was reversed on appeal. Inouye confirmed that he had received telephone calls regarding Williams critiquing his remarks during his defense of himself the previous week and questioned if the Senate was going to punish him "because his presentation was rambling, not in the tradition ofDaniel Webster" and for his wife believing in him.[74]
In October 1982, after President Reagan appointed two new members to the board of the Legal Services Corporation, Inouye was one of 32 Senators to sign a letter expressing grave concerns over the appointments.[75]
On December 23, Inouye voted against a five-cent-a-gallon increase in gasoline taxes across the U.S. imposed to aid the financing of highway repairs and mass transit.[76] The bill passed on the last day of the97th United States Congress.[77][78]
In March 1984, Inouye voted against a constitutional amendment authorizing periods in public schools for silent prayer[79] and against President Reagan's unsuccessful proposal for a constitutional amendment permitting organized school prayer in public schools.[80][81] In August, Inouye secured the acceptance of the Senate's defense appropriations subcommittee for an amendment meant to cure mainland milk arriving at Hawaiian and Alaskan military bases sour, arguing thousands of gallons of milk coming from the mainland must be dumped due to their souring and said shipments were arriving eight days after pasteurization.[82]
In February 1989, after Oliver North went on trial in Federal District Court amid accusations that he illegally diverted profits from the secret sale of arms to Iran to the Nicaraguan rebels,Jack Brooks, then-chair of theHouse Oversight Committee, questioned North's role in composing a "contingency plan in the event of an emergency that would suspend the American Constitution." Inouye replied that the inquiry touched on a classified and sensitive matter that would only be discussed in a closed session.[83]
On May 23, 2005, Inouye was a member of a bipartisan group of 14 moderate senators, known as theGang of 14, to forge a compromise on the Democrats' use of the judicialfilibuster, thus blocking the Republican leadership's attempt to implement the "nuclear option", a means of forcibly ending a filibuster.[84] 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 Bushappellate court nominees (Janice Rogers Brown,Priscilla Owen, andWilliam H. Pryor Jr.) would receive a vote by the full U.S. Senate.[85]
Inouye never lost an election.[86] His closest race was in1992, when state senator Rick Reed held Inouye to 57 percent of the vote; this was the only time he received less than 69 percent of the vote.[citation needed]
Inouye's first wife was Margaret "Maggie" Shinobu Awamura, who was working as a speech instructor at the University of Hawaii while Inouye was studying there. The two married on June 12, 1948 at the Harris Memorial Methodist Church in Honolulu[38] and had a son, Ken.[87] Ken Inouye went on to become the guitarist for thehardcore punk bandMarginal Man.[88] Maggie Inouye died of cancer on March 13, 2006.[89]
On May 24, 2008, Inouye marriedIrene Hirano in a private ceremony inBeverly Hills, California. Hirano was president and founding chief executive officer of theJapanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, California. She resigned the position at the time of her marriage in order to be closer to her husband.[citation needed] Inouye was 24 years older than Hirano.[90] On May 27, 2010, Hirano was elected chair of the nation's second-largest non-profit organization,The Ford Foundation.[91] Hirano outlived Inouye by more than seven years; she died on April 7, 2020.[92]
In 1992, Inouye's hairdresser accused Inouye of rape.[93] Inouye denied the accusation.[94] The allegation received national media attention.[95][96] A Senate ethics committee review was dropped in 1993 over Inouye's accuser's lack of participation.[97]
In 2014, two years after Inouye's death, U.S. SenatorKirsten Gillibrand wrote in her autobiography about a male colleague who squeezed her waist and commented: "Don't lose too much weight now. I like my girls chubby!"The New York Times identified Inouye as the senator referred to by Gillibrand, setting off national discussion of Inouye's past.[98]
In 2017, another woman alleged that Inouye had sexually harassed her.[99][100] A former staffer, the woman alleged that Inouye asked her to rub his shoulders, tried to put his hand on her leg, grabbed her hand, invited her to a late dinner in his room, requested she sit next to him on a bed, and tried to place his hand under her skirt. The woman asked to remain anonymous.[101]
Hawaii State Rep.Kaniela Ing, who learned about the 1992 accusations through aPBS television program, questioned the 2016 decision to rename theHonolulu International Airport after Inouye.[93][102]
On May 27, 1947, Inouye was honorably discharged and returned home as a Captain with a Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star Medal, two Purple Hearts, and 12 other medals and citations. In 2000, his Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.[117][118][119]
  | |||
  | .svg) |   |  |
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  | .svg) |
| Combat Infantryman Badge | ||||||||||||||||
| 1st row | Medal of Honor | Bronze Star Medal | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd row | Purple Heart (withoak leaf cluster) | Presidential Medal of Freedom | European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with three service stars:Rome–Arno,Rhineland andNorthern Apennines campaigns) | World War II Victory Medal | ||||||||||||
| 3rd row | Grand Cross of theOrder of Lakandula (Philippines) | Grand Cross of theOrder of Sikatuna (Philippines) | Chief Commander of the Legion of Honor (Philippines) | Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Paulownia Flowers (Japan) | ||||||||||||
| 4th row | Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Rising Sun (Japan) | Chevalier of theLégion d'honneur (France) | Chief of Staff Medal of Appreciation (Israel) | Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation | ||||||||||||
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After experiencing health and mobility problems in 2012,[120] Inouye was hospitalized atGeorge Washington University Hospital on December 6, 2012 so doctors could regulate his oxygen intake. He was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center four days later and died there of respiratory complications on December 17, 2012.[121][122] According to the senator's Congressional website, his last word was "Aloha."[123]
Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid announced Inouye's death on the floor of the Senate, referring to Inouye as "certainly one of the giants of the Senate." Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell referred to Inouye as one of the finest Senators in United States history. Sen.Daniel Akaka of Hawaii called Inouye "'the man who changed the islands forever'" and "'a true patriot and an American hero in every sense'".[124] PresidentBarack Obama referred to him as a "true American hero".[125]
Inouye's bodylay in state at theUnited States Capitol rotunda on December 20, 2012.[126] President Obama, former presidentBill Clinton, Vice PresidentJoe Biden, House speakerJohn Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spoke at a funeral service at theWashington National Cathedral the following day. Inouye's body was then flown to Hawaii where it lay in state at theHawaii State Capitol on December 22. A second funeral service was held at theNational Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu the following day.[127][128][129]
TheDaniel K. Inouye Graduate School of Nursing, founded in 1993, became part of theUniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.[130]
Inouye made a cameo appearance as himself in the 1994 filmThe Next Karate Kid, giving the opening speech atArlington National Cemetery for a commendation forJapanese-Americans who fought in the442nd Regimental Combat Team duringWorld War II.[131]
In 2001, theForest Glen Annex atFort Detrick inSilver Spring, Maryland dedicated building 503 as theDaniel K. Inouye Building, built to house theWalter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) and theNaval Medical Research Center (NMRC).[132]
In 2007,The Citadel dedicatedInouye Hall at the Citadel/South Carolina Army National Guard Marksmanship Center to Senator Inouye, who helped make the Center possible.[133]
In May 2013, Secretary of the NavyRay Mabus announced the nextArleigh Burke-class destroyer would be namedUSS Daniel Inouye (DDG-118).[134] The destroyer was officially christened at Bath Iron Works on June 22, 2019.[135]
In November 2013, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association renamed its Trailblazer Award in honor of Inouye, posthumously honoring him with theSenator Daniel K. Inouye NAPABA Trailblazer Award.[136]
In December 2013, the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope atHaleakala Observatory onMaui was renamed theDaniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope.[137]
Numerous federal properties atJoint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam and around Hawai'i have been dedicated to Senator Inouye, including theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationDaniel K. Inouye Regional Center (2013),[138] theHawaii Air National GuardDaniel K. Inouye Fighter Squadron Operations & Aircraft Maintenance Facility (2014),[139] theSenator Daniel K. InouyeDefense POW/MIA Accounting Agency building (2015),[140] theDaniel K. InouyeAsia-Pacific Center for Security Studies at Fort Derussy (2015),[141] and thePacific Missile Range FacilityDaniel K. Inouye Range and Operations Center on Kauai (2016).[142]
In 2014, Israel named the simulator room of theArrow anti-missile defense system in his honor, the first time that a military facility has been named after a foreign national.[143]
ABoeing C-17 Globemaster III, tail number 5147, of the535th Airlift Squadron, was dedicatedSpirit of Daniel Inouye on August 20, 2014.[144]
The Parade Field atFort Benning, Georgia was rededicated to honor Senator Inouye on September 12, 2014.[145]
On April 27, 2017, Honolulu's airport was renamedDaniel K. Inouye International Airport in his honor.[146]
In 2018, Honolulu-basedMatson, Inc. named its newest container ship, the largest built in the United States, theDaniel K. Inouye.[147]
TheUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Hilo dedicated its pharmacy college theDaniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy (DKICP) on December 4, 2019.[148]
In August 2021, while visiting Japan for the Tokyo Olympics, First LadyJill Biden dedicated a room in theU.S. ambassador's residence to Inouye and his wife, Irene.[149]
One of them, who asks for anonymity, recalls 'going over to Pete and Nancy's house in Westfield, N.J. and having coffee together. Pete looked about 80 years old—horrible.'
Irene Ann Yasutake was born on Oct. 7, 1948, in Los Angeles.
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