[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Pages 17224-17225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING DANIEL K. INOUYE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I see my two colleagues from Connecticut 
on the Senate floor. I know they are here to speak about the horrible 
tragedy in Newtown last Friday. I will abbreviate my remarks on the 
floor, and I commend both of them for extraordinary statements last 
night at a memorial service. I will never forget some of the things 
they shared with us about this terrible tragedy.
  I come to the floor this morning for a few moments to pay tribute to 
one of my great friends and one of my great colleagues, Danny Inouye, 
who passed away yesterday. The majority leader has done such an 
extraordinary job recounting his life, and I think back to what it must 
have meant to him as he witnessed Pearl Harbor at the age of 20. He 
said that he realized at the time that the pilots in those planes that 
were bombing his family and others in Hawaii were people of the same 
ancestry as his father, and it hurt him. It hurt him as well to be 
branded as suspect because of his Japanese origin and to see literally 
tens of thousands of Japanese Americans interned in camps because their 
loyalty was questioned.
  He took the opportunity to volunteer and serve our Nation to prove 
his loyalty and that he was willing to risk his life for America. He 
served in one of the most highly decorated units in all of World War 
II, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which was comprised of Japanese 
Americans who fought in the European theater. They recently came to 
Washington to be honored. Senator Inouye was there, and it was a great 
moment to see these men of the ``greatest generation'' who have proven 
to America their love for this country, and none more so than Danny 
Inouye.
  Senator Reid has recounted in detail the incredible story of his 
bravery that earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor, but he was 
such a humble man. When we look back on his life, there were so many 
aspects of it that were historic in nature, and one would never know it 
in conversations with him or working with him.
  Senator Reid had the same experience I did. I visited Senator 
Inouye's office, and it was unusual by Senate standards. I looked 
across the office, and there were no pictures of Danny Inouye on the 
walls, and there were no awards for this man who served more than half 
a century in Congress.
  I said to him: It is interesting that your office has a lot of 
artwork and photos but nothing about Danny Inouye.
  He said: No, I didn't want to put those things up. I wanted everyone 
to feel at ease coming in here. I didn't want to talk about my party 
affiliation or what I had done. I want them to feel comfortable and to 
know this is a welcoming office.
  That is the kind of person he was. Time and again, he proved it.
  He started off in the territorial House of Representatives in Hawaii. 
When Hawaii became a State, he served in the Congress and later in the 
U.S. Senate. He was there from the beginning, and what a dynamic leader 
he was for his State of Hawaii. He did so many great things over the 
years.
  I was at the same Prayer Breakfast Senator Reid recounted. There was 
one other story he told, which I will only refer to in the most 
abbreviated form. He talked about his experience as a sniper and how he 
still had in his mind the images of those enemy soldiers he shot down. 
After 50, 60 years, he could not get those images out of his mind.
  He talked about befriending one of his fellow veterans in the 
Michigan veterans hospital. He told me this great story he shared at 
the Prayer Breakfast. He said that when he was an officer, he would 
spend his weekends in the great city of Chicago at the Knickerbocker 
Hotel. He said that was the hotel for officers.
  He said: I would come into Chicago and have a great time on the 
weekends and head back to the veterans hospital.
  Well, he finally talked one of his fellow Hawaiians--a man whose face 
had been literally burned off--into joining him on one of his trips to 
Chicago. The man was embarrassed by his appearance and didn't think 
anybody would want to be around him or talk to him. Danny Inouye 
prepared all of these different places where they would stop in during 
their visit, and every one of them greeted Senator Inouye and his 
friend in a warm fashion.
  The story goes on from there, and I won't go into the details, but he 
was a man who always looked to help someone else. He talked about how 
this man who had been so brutally injured in the war returned to 
Hawaii, raised a family, and was Danny Inouye's friend for life, as so 
many of us were.
  I think back as well to Senator Robert C. Byrd's funeral in West 
Virginia. It was one of the hottest days I can remember. We were up 
there baking in the sun at this memorial service for Robert C. Byrd. I 
intentionally picked a seat next to Danny Inouye. I had to take off my 
jacket. I was mopping the perspiration off, and I looked at him in his 
dark suit without a bead of sweat.
  I said: How do you do that?
  He said: Well, you know, the Asian religions are very important in my 
life, and they believe mind over matter can achieve great things. I can 
visualize myself sitting in a deep freeze now, and I am not hot at all.
  I thought, this man is amazing in so many different ways. When he is 
done with his life, those stories--some serious, some lighthearted--
will reflect so well on this man and what he meant.
  One of the most important things I have on my agenda is the passage 
of the DREAM Act. I have worked on it for 11 years, and there was a 
time on the floor of the Senate--September 21, 2010--when I could not 
break the Republican filibuster on the DREAM Act, and I was pretty 
despondent over it. Senator Reid came to the floor and said a few kind 
words about my efforts, but then out of nowhere Senator Inouye sought 
recognition. He knew that I was trying to get for millions of these 
young people living in America a chance to serve their Nation, prove 
their love, and become legal citizens in America. I will read what he 
said because it touched me. He said:

       Madam President, I wish to step back in history, if I may. 
     On December 7, 1941, something terrible happened in Hawaii--
     Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese. Three weeks later, 
     the Government of the United States declared that all 
     Japanese Americans, citizens born in the United States or of 
     Japanese ancestry, were considered to be enemy aliens. As a 
     result, like these undocumented people, they could not put on 
     the uniform of this land.

  Senator Inouye went on to say:

       Well, I was 17 at the time, and naturally I resented this 
     because I loved my country and I wanted to put on a uniform 
     to show where my heart stood. But we were denied. So we 
     petitioned the government, and a year later they said: OK, if 
     you wish to volunteer, go ahead.

  Senator Inouye said:

       Well, to make a long story short, the regiment I served in, 
     made up of Japanese Americans, had the highest casualties in 
     Europe but the most decorated in the history of the United 
     States.

  He turned and said:

       I think the beneficiaries of the Senator from Illinois--

  And the DREAM Act--

     will do the same.

  It was the type of short statement that in a few words captured his 
life, his sacrifice, and what he had proven by risking his life for 
this country. There is a reason we honor him this morning.
  I close by saying two things. First, Senator Akaka came to the floor 
last night--his colleague of so many years--and put in a few words. He 
said on the floor last night:

       Tomorrow will be the first day since Hawaii became a State 
     in 1959 that Dan Inouye will not be representing us. He 
     really worked to shape Hawaii and this great country.

  He went on to say:


[[Page 17225]]

       You will be missed in Washington as much as you will be 
     missed in Hawaii. Rest in peace [Senator Inouye].

  That was Danny Akaka's farewell tribute, and it summarizes how much 
he meant to Hawaii and how much he meant to America. His last word: 
``Aloha.'' As Senator Reid said, it is so appropriate that this kind 
and gentle American hero would leave the message of love for everyone 
else. That was his life.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from California.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish to associate myself with the 
eloquent remarks made by my colleague Senator Durbin, Senator Reid, and 
all those who have come to praise a one-of-a-kind Senator and 
extraordinary human being, my friend Dan Inouye.
  I was telling Senator Lieberman that when the Senate put on a little 
retirement dinner for our retiring Senators--including Senator 
Lieberman--there was Senator Inouye. When we look back, it was only 2 
weeks ago. We know he could not have been strong, he was not well, but 
he came to that dinner and sat at that table because of the love and 
respect for the individual Senators and for this institution.
  As for me, I will miss Danny's sonorous voice, his big heart, his 
self-effacing manner, his integrity, and his patriotism.
  Over the years, so many of us have worked together on so many issues 
with Dan. I worked on bringing a state-of-the-art, first ever 
comprehensive casualty care center to my State to take care of the 
wounded vets who were coming home without their limbs, post-traumatic 
stress, and all the problems they had. There was no such place on the 
west coast, and with Dan's help--and we worked with Senator Stevens--we 
got it done. Now that facility really stands as a tribute to Dan 
Inouye.
  In 2010 I had a very difficult campaign, as most of us did at that 
time, and Dan said: I am going to come out there and help you. I was 
under fierce attack, and we had an event for veterans. Dan was a 
speaker, and I was a speaker. As I was speaking, we heard these voices 
of screaming demonstrators yelling things that were not complimentary 
toward me, let's put it that way. It was very loud, and I was so 
humiliated and embarrassed. Here was this amazing patriot, and they 
would keep screaming when Danny was speaking about my work and his work 
for veterans. Sure enough, the demonstrators kept it up, and I was so 
upset.
  I went up to him and I put my arm around him when he was finished and 
said: Dan, I am so embarrassed. I am so sorry.
  He said: Barbara, they are not going to beat you by screaming. Don't 
worry about it.
  He went on to go to a couple of other events, and he took his wife to 
them. He was extraordinary.
  I loved Danny with all of my heart. Every time I looked at him, I 
smiled because he was so good. He was such a good person, and I pay 
tribute to him today. I don't think we will ever replace him. We will 
never replace this remarkable American. He personified the meaning of 
love and the meaning of country.
  I send my love to his family.

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