[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17231]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING DANIEL K. INOUYE

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to pay tribute to a 
person I loved, appreciated, and worked with for all these years--all 
of my 36 years in the Senate--and to bid a fond farewell to our dearly 
departed friend, the senior Senator from Hawaii, Dan Inouye.
  In addition to being a distinguished United States Senator, Senator 
Inouye was many things: a Pearl Harbor survivor, a Medal of Honor 
recipient, a father, a grandfather, and a loving husband to his wife 
Irene.
  As a volunteer with the Red Cross, young Daniel Inouye tended to the 
wounded in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
  During World War II, when the Federal Government was placing 
thousands of his fellow Japanese Americans in internment camps, Senator 
Inouye was one of many Asian Americans who petitioned the government 
for the right to serve their country in the military. His petition was 
successful, and he served heroically. In fact, the story of Senator 
Inouye's military service has become the stuff of legend here in the 
Senate and throughout the country.
  In 2000, Senator Inouye, along with 21 of his fellow Japanese-
American World War II veterans, was awarded the Medal of Honor, our 
Nation's highest honor for valor.
  In 1959, when Hawaii achieved statehood, he was elected the State's 
first full member of the House of Representatives. Three years later, 
in 1962, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he would serve for 
five decades, the second longest tenure in this Chamber's history. I am 
honored to have served with Senator Inouye throughout my entire Senate 
service.
  While he and I often found ourselves on different sides when it came 
to issues, I always knew him to be a man of principle and decency, and 
I never doubted his commitment to the people of his State and to doing 
what he believed was right.
  One of the few times we found ourselves on the same side came when 
our mutual friend, the late Senator Ted Stevens, asked us both for help 
when his character was called into question. Politically speaking, 
participating in Senator Stevens' trial held no benefit for Senator 
Inouye. It would have been easy for Senator Inouye to deny his friend's 
request, and few would have blamed him for it. But that wasn't how 
Senator Inouye operated. Rather than letting a friend fend for himself, 
Senator Inouye showed great loyalty and characteristic integrity in his 
willingness to testify to his friend's good character, and put his own 
reputation on the line in service of a friend. And I had a similar 
privilege.
  Both Senator Inouye and I were mystified by what happened in that 
trial, and we were justified in our mystification when, finally, they 
had to admit it was a trial that should never have been brought. All I 
can say is I remember him testifying and I testified after he did, and 
I would mention that Colin Powell also testified as to Ted Stevens' 
character. All three of us felt this was a besmirchment of a truly 
honorable and decent man.
  Once again, I am proud to have been Senator Inouye's colleague, but I 
am more proud and more pleased to have been his friend over all these 
years. He actually showed me a great deal of concern, showed me a great 
deal of friendship, and spent time with me when I needed particular 
help, and was there in many ways for not just me but for others as 
well, one of the kindest, most decent, and honorable people I have ever 
met. I express my deepest sympathies to his wife and family and their 
many, many friends.
  Daniel Inouye left an indelible mark on the Nation he loved so much 
and he will surely be missed. Aloha, my friend.

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