DAN INOUYE TIMELINE

‐Born Daniel Ken Inouye in Honolulu, Hawaii on September 7, 1924

1941

‐Served as a medical volunteer at the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941

1942

‐Graduated from McKinley High School

1943

‐Volunteered for the Army and was assigned to the famed Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team in March

‐Sergeant Dan Inouye slogged through nearly three bloody months of the Rome‐Arno campaign with the U.S. Fifth Army. Early in the action, he established himself as an outstanding patrol leader with the so‐called “Go‐For‐Broke Regiment,” the famed rallying cry in infantry attacks.

1944

‐Inouye’s unit was shifted to the French Vosges Mountains and spent two of the bloodiest weeks of the war rescuing a Texas Battalion surrounded by German forces. The rescue of “The Lost Battalion” is listed in the U.S. Army annals as one of the most significant military battles of the century. Inouye became a platoon leader and won the Bronze Star and a battlefield commission as a Second Lieutenant.

1945

‐Back in Italy, the 442nd was assaulting heavily defended hill in the closing months of the war when Lt. Inouye was hit in his abdomen by a bullet which came out his back, barely missing his spine. He continued to lead the platoon and advanced alone against a machine gun nest which had his men pinned down. He tossed two hand grenades with devastating effect before his right arm was shattered by a German rifle grenade at close range. Inouye threw his last grenade with his left hand, attacked with a submachine gun and was finally knocked down the hill by a bullet in his leg.

1947

‐Spent 20 months in an Army hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan after losing his right arm.

‐Returned to Hawaii honorably discharged as a Captain with a Distinguished Service Cross (the second highest award for military valor), Bronze Star, Purple Heart with cluster and 12 other medals and citations.

1950

‐Graduated from the University of Hawaii with a bachelor’s degree in government and economics under the GI Bill

1952

‐Earned J.D. degree at George Washington University Law School

1953

‐Admitted to the bar in 1953 and commenced practice in Honolulu

‐Served as a Deputy Public Prosecutor for the city of Honolulu in 1953‐54

1954

‐Elected to the Territorial House of Representatives, also served as majority leader.

1958

‐Elected to the Territorial Senate (1958‐59).

1959

‐Elected to the Eighty‐sixth Congress as Hawaii’s first Congressman, after Hawaii became a state on August 21, 1959.

1960

‐Reelected to a full term in 1960

‐First Japanese American to serve in the U.S. house of Representatives and later the first in the

U.S. Senate

1962

‐Elected to the United States Senate in 1962

1963

‐Served on Senate Armed Services Committee (1963‐71)

1964

‐Son Daniel Ken Inouye Jr. born on July 14, 1964

1968

‐Delivered the Keynote Address at the 1968 Democratic Convention, in which he appealed for racial understanding and progressive change through democratic institutions

1969

‐Chairman, subcommittee defense, member

‐Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee

1971

‐Named to Senate Appropriations Committee

1973

‐Member of the Senate Watergate Committee (1973 and 1974)

1974

‐Re‐elected to the US Senate for third term

1976

‐Named first chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, a post he voluntarily relinquished after a two‐year term; (member 1976‐1984)

1978

‐Democratic Steering Committee (1978‐88)

‐Senate Democratic Conference (1978‐88)

1979

‐Served as the third‐ranking leader among Senate Democrats as Secretary of the Democratic Conference from January 1979 through 1988

1980

‐Re‐elected to the US Senate for fourth term

‐Chairman of Rules Committee, 1980 Convention

1984

‐Chaired the Senate Democratic Central America Study Group to assess U.S. policy and served as Senior Counselor to the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America (also known as the Kissinger Commission)

‐Senate Democrat representative to White House‐Congressional bipartisan deficit reduction group, 1984

1986

‐Re‐elected to the US Senate for fifth term

1987

‐In January 1987, appointed chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition, which held public hearings on the Iran‐Contra affair from May through August 1987.

‐Served as Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

1989

‐Appointed Chairman of the Democratic Steering Committee

‐Served as Chairman, Indian Affairs Committee (1989‐94)

1991

‐Served as Chairman, Democratic Steering Committee

‐Re‐elected to the US Senate for sixth term

1998

‐Re‐elected to the US Senate for seventh term

2000

‐In June 2000, Inouye was among 22 Asian‐American veterans of World War II who were awarded the Medal of Honor, 15 of them posthumously. The honors came after a review of service records of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who received the Distinguished Service Cross to determine whether their awards should be upgraded

2001

‐Served as Chairman, Indian Affairs Committee (2001‐03)

2003

‐Former Army hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan re‐named Hart‐Dole Inouye Federal Center

2004

‐Re‐elected to the US Senate for eighth term

2006

‐Wife Margaret passes away March 13, 2006

2008

‐Married Irene Hirano on May 24, 2008

2009

‐In January 3, 2009 appointed Chairman of Appropriations