The convention opened on August 26. The keynoter was Senator Dan Inouye of Hawaii, a brave Japanese-American veteran of World WarII, to whom I awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2000, a belated recognition of the heroism that had cost him an arm, and very nearly his life, while his own people were being herded into detention camps back home. Inouye expressed sympathy for the protesters and their goals, but urged them not to abandon peaceful means. He spoke against “violence and anarchy,” but also condemned apathy and prejudice “hiding behind the reach of law and order,” a clear slap at Nixon and perhaps at the Chicago police tactics too. Inouye struck a good glance, but things were too far out of kilter to be righted by the power of his words.
From My Life, by Bill Clinton
As soon as I read this paragraph I knew that I had something to write about for my Asian American, Pacific Islander Heritage Month series.
I was happy to find the above picture in the photo library because I was a big time Watergate hearings junkie as a teen. I watched it all day, most days and then read about it in the evening paper. He’s around 40 years old in this picture. It’s incredible to think that in ~20 years he went from a young soldier fighting in a segregated combat team to being a member of a US Senate Select committee. That says a lot about him.
Daniel K. Inouye was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 7, 1924, received his undergraduate degree from the University of Hawaii, and his law degree from George Washington University. During World War II, Inouye served in the U.S. Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Composed of soldiers of Japanese ancestry, the 442nd became one of the most decorated military units in U.S. history. For his combat heroism, which cost him his right arm, Inouye was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart with Cluster. Following the war, he practiced law in Hawaii before entering territorial politics in 1954. When Hawaii became the 50th state, Inouye became one of its first representatives in the U.S. Congress. In 1962 he won election to the U.S. Senate. Senator Inouye gained national distinction in the 1970s as a member of the Senate Watergate Committee and, in 1987, as chairman of the Senate Iran-Contra Committee. He was a longtime member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which he chaired from 2009 to 2012, and also served as the Senate’s president pro tempore from 2010 until his death in 2012. In 2013 Senator Inouye was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, becoming the first—and to date, only—senator to receive both the Medal of Freedom and the Medal of Honor.
www.senate.gov/...
Sen. Inouye was born in 1924 in territorial Hawaii. He enlisted in the US Army in 1943, and volunteered for the Nisei regiment — the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It was during this service in Italy that he suffered the loss of his arm, along with other injuries.
He later was elected to the US House of Representatives as the first Japanese American member. He went on to serve in the US Senate as well, and in 2010 became 3rd in line for the presidency when he became President pro tempore of the Senate after the death of Sen. Robert Byrd.
I would be remiss if I didn’t share this video of him receiving his Medal of Honor in 2000 from Pres. Clinton. He, along with 19 others received their medals in a large White House event. Pres. Clinton gave an introductory speech that honored all of the recipients, with special acknowledgement to Sen. Inouye.
The first story he tells is about how “prejudice is a stubborn foe.”
Captain Daniel Inouye, in full uniform, decorated with a Distinguished Service Cross, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart with a cluster, and twelve other medals and citations tried to get a hair cut and was told, “We don’t cut Jap hair.”
Clinton then shared the story of the conversation between Sen. Inouye and his father when he left to join the US Army.
Here’s what his father said to him — “The Inouyes owe an unrepayable debt to America.” Can you imagine? This was after other Japanese Americans were being rounded up and sent to detention camps. It is clear that his father and he believed in the best of our country, despite knowing what was happening.
To which Pres. Clinton stated at the ceremony,
If I may say so sir, more than half a century later, America owes an unrepayable debt to you and your colleagues.
******
To learn more about this courageous public servant, I’ve included some videos for your viewing pleasure.
I enjoyed listening to him speak here about his injuries that caused the loss of his right arm. He sounds a little bit like my Dad, and was unassuming about the injuries, even chuckling as he described what happened. This is a short video.
This video is just over an hour and only a short portion of it is Pres. Clinton’s speech. Sen. Inouye receives his medal at about the 24:25 mark. I watched all of the video because it was important to me to hear the stories of all the people being honored. I also enjoyed the ceremonial aspect as well.