I once again was the Chairman of the Annual Statesmanship Award Dinner (#12) put on by the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress. This dinner honored all the Members of Congress who went from service in uniform to service on Capitol Hill. Those accepting the award were: Congressman Steve Buyer (R-IN), who served in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm (the 1st Gulf War); Congressman John Conyers, Jr., (D-MI), who served in the Korean War; Congressman Jack Murtha (D-PA), who served in the Vietnam War; and Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who served in the Vietnam War. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), who served in World War II, accepted the honor on behalf of all Members who served in our Armed Forces.
Two hundred and twenty years ago on March 14, 1789, the first United States Congress assembled at Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City. Among the men who were elected to that first Congress were veterans from the War for Independence. For example, there was Richard Basset from Delaware. During the American Revolution he organized the State’s Military and assembled 800 men to face the British on their march towards Philadelphia. He helped form the largest battalion in the Continental Army from one of the smallest colonies; completely uniformed, supplied and armed. There was also James Jackson, a representative from Georgia who served in the State’s Militia at the defense of Savannah and the Battle of Cowpens. Theodore Sedgwick from Massachusetts was a Major in the Continental Army and later served as the fifth Speaker of the House of Representatives. Suffice it to say, nearly every member in that First Congress fought for our independence and our rights for self-determination in uniform, then later they served our Country again as the people’s representatives in making laws to protect those freedoms outlined in the freshly-inked, newly ratified Constitution. Duty to Country comes in many forms, but our history shows that many fine individuals who wear the uniform of the Armed Forces, either in the ranks or as an officer, seek to continue that service to our Country as lawmakers.
I had the opportunity to introduce Senator Inouye. However, because of the vote on the stimulus bill in the Senate, he was unable to attend. I had the privilege of accepting the award on his behalf.
Sen. Inouye was born on Oahu, the son of Japanese immigrants. Three months after his 17th birthday the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. Young Dan Inouye was head of a first-aid litter team for his Honolulu neighborhood and spent a week helping the many victims of the attack. Interestingly enough soon after that service some officials came to the Inouye house and ripped out their new short-wave radio. The officials took the radio outside and smashed it in front of the Inouye house in accordance with the orders of the military government. Despite that, when the War Department decided to accept 1,500 Nisei (first generation Japanese Americans) volunteers to join a full-fledged combat team, Daniel Inouye volunteered. Unfortunately he did not make the first go-around, but was able to get in on the next round. He was part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team made up of Japanese-Americans, except for the officers who were haole (white). Their slogan was “go for broke.” They shipped out in May, 1944. Inouye was promoted to Buck Sargeant, and later received a battlefield commission. The 442nd became the most highly decorated unit in the Army in WWII. During WWII Inouye received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Service Cross (which was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor).
Inouye served in Italy in 1944, and was transferred briefly to France. He returned to Italy where he was nearly killed in an assault in 1945. Inouye survived a bullet wound to the abdomen and a point-blank attack by a German grenade during a mission where he advanced alone towards a German gun post to protect his surrounded men. Inouye recovered from the wounds in Percy Jones Army Hospital in Michigan and became friends with fellow patient Bob Dole. In 2003 the hospital was renamed the Hart Dole Inouye Federal Center in honor of the two World War veterans and another U.S. Senator and fellow war veteran who stayed in the hospital, Phil Hart. Inouye, before the War, had wanted to be a doctor but the loss of his arm and his 20-month rehabilitation in an Army hospital changed his mind. He graduated from the University of Hawaii and ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1958. This was during my last year with my squadron at Barbers Point Naval Air Station on Oahu.
Today Daniel K. Inouye is the third most senior member of the U.S. Senate and Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Sen. Inouye wrote in 2003 to a girl who had visited him in his Washington office, “Please remember that the story of my experiences during WWII is by itself not important. Much more significant are the values that the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and other segregated units represented, that patriotism and love of our great Country are not limited to any ethnic group, and wartime hysteria must never lead us to trample on our Democratic principles.”
