Senator Daniel K. Inouye Papers

About Daniel K. Inouye (1924-2012)

The son of Hyotaro and Kame Inouye, Daniel Ken Inouye was born in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi on September 7, 1924. He was a graduate of McKinley High School in Honolulu with ambitions on becoming a physician. Due to his interest in medicine, Inouye served as a medical volunteer during the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the United States Army after the enlistment ban was lifted for Japanese Americans. He served in the highly decorated 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Italy and France. Inouye lost his right arm in combat and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart with Cluster for his heroism in combat.

With the loss of his right arm in combat, Inouye shifted his career interests from medicine to law. He graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1950 and continued his education at George Washington University where he received the degree of Juris Doctor in 1953. He practiced law in Hawaiʻi before entering politics. Inouye was elected to the Hawaiʻi Territorial House of Representatives in 1953 and became the majority leader.

Inouye was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and took office on August 21, 1959, the same day that Hawaiʻi became a state. Inouye was be re elected and served in the U.S. House of Representatives until 1962. He ran for the U. S. Senate and was elected in 1962. Senator Inouye was successfully re elected to the Senate until his death in 2012. In the Senate, Inouye became nationally known from his keynote speech at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and his service on the Senate Watergate Committee. He also served as the chair for the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senate Indian Affairs Committee, Senate Commerce Committee, and the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. Toward the end of his tenure in the Senate, Inouye served as the President Pro Tempore from 2010-2012.

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