The Navy’s newest guided- missile destroyer USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118) was commissioned at its homeport, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Dec. 8 during a ceremony. The ship is named after Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawai`i.
The ship completed a two-day voyage around all of the Hawaiian islands during its “Honoring the Islands” tour between Nov. 16 and 18. This tour allowed Hawai`i residents to pay tribute and reflect on the legacy of the late senator and all he’s done for Hawai`i and the country.
“I am incredibly honored to command a ship named after Sen. Inouye,” said Cmdr. DonAnn Gilmore, the ship’s commanding officer. “The crew shows many of his traits. He was both a World War II war hero and a man dedicated to serving his country. He’s the son of Hawai`i.”
Inouye was born on Sept. 7, 1924 in Honolulu, Hawai`i, to Japanese immigrant parents. He dreamed of being a surgeon and would volunteer at the Red Cross while he was in high school.
During the Pearl Harbor attacks on Dec. 7, 1941, Inouye assisted injured civilians and Sailors at a first-aid station. He then attempted to enlist into the U.S. Army to fight during World War II but was denied since Americans of Japanese descent were not trusted to serve in the U.S. military.
“Though I was a citizen of the United States, I was declared to be an enemy alien and as a result not fit to put on the uniform of the United States,” said Inouye during an interview with the National WWII Museum in 2011.
Despite knowing that Japanese Americans were being detained against their will in camps on the mainland, Inouye and other men petitioned to be allowed to serve. Most Japanese Americans in Hawai`i were not detained due to the impact on the Hawaiian economy if all Japanese Americans were removed from the workforce.
Once Inouye graduated high school, he became a pre-med student at the University of Hawai`i. In 1943 the U.S. Army began to allow Japanese Americans to serve exclusively in the European theater under a segregated battalion. Inouye soon quit his studies to enlist in the military. He was assigned to Company E in the 2nd Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
Advancing to Sergeant in his first year, Inouye served in Italy and France. During a battle in France, his platoon rescued another battalion that was surrounded by German forces, despite heavy losses. He himself was shot but saved by lucky silver coins he would carry in his breast pocket. For his bravery in the battle he received a rare battlefield commission that made him a second lieutenant and a bronze Star Medal for his heroism.
In April of 1945, Inouye would sustain severe injuries during an assault on a German-held ridge in Italy defended with machine guns. Despite getting multiple gunshot wounds and having his right arm blown off by a grenade, he continued to advance in what would be a successful mission.
“As I drew my arm back, all in a flash of light and dark I saw him, that faceless German, like a strip of motion picture film running through a projector that’s gone berserk,” said Inouye. “One instant he was standing waist-high in the bunker, and the next he was aiming a rifle grenade at my face from a range of 10 yards. And even as I cocked my arm to throw, he fired and his rifle grenade smashed into my right elbow and exploded. I looked at my dangling arm and saw my grenade still clenched in a fist that suddenly didn’t belong to me anymore.”
Inouye was awarded his second Purple Heart and the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery in battle and spent two years in Army hospitals recovering from his injuries. He was honorably discharged in 1947 as a captain.
Forced to give up his desire to be a surgeon due to his amputation, he went back to school and got a bachelor’s degree in government and economics as well as a law degree.
When Hawai`i became a state in 1959, Inouye was elected to serve as one of Hawai`i’s first delegates to the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1962 he won his election to the U.S. Senate and served for 53 years total in the House and Senate. He was the first Japanese American to serve in Congress.
Inouye received the Medal of Honor by President Bill Clinton on June 21, 2000 with other Japanese American veterans of the 442nd Regiment.
As a Senator, Inouye helped to reinvigorate Pacific Missile Range Facility’s range through extensive upgrades to range systems and capabilities.
He also served as the president pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in line for the presidency, from 2010 until his death on Dec. 17, 2012 at 88 years old. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his lifelong public service.
Daniel Inouye was christened at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine by the Senator’s wife, Irene Hirano Inouye on June 22, 2019. The ship briefly stopped at Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island for refueling before setting sail towards Hawai`i.
| Date Taken: | 12.08.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.13.2022 21:31 |
| Story ID: | 424946 |
| Location: | KEKAHA, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 319 |
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