Like many in Hawaii I grew up hearing about the legendary U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye, who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives when Hawaii attained statehood in 1959. He passed away at age 88 on December 17, 2012, the 2nd longest serving U.S. Senator in American history, and President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate (third in line of U.S. Presidential succession).

Here are photos (front & back) of the President Pro Tempore commemorative coin he sent me last year:

18 members of my Sugiyama family attended his Big Island memorial service on December 27, 2012 at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo, Hawaii. Over a thousand people came through that afternoon to say a final “aloha” to this distinguished man. His 2nd wife Irene Hirano Inouye and his only child Kenny Inouye were present to receive condolences from constituents, politicians, veterans, seniors, Native Hawaiians, relatives — all people who knew him and knew his good work over 50 years in the U.S. Senate and three and a half years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Particularly moving was the singing of his favorite songs “Danny Boy” and “Kaimana Hila” sung by local Hilo musicians Mark Yamanaka and Friends. Junior Hawaii Senator Dan Akaka’s son Kahu Daniel “Kaniela” Akaka, Jr. performed the invocation & benediction.
Link to Hawaii Tribune Herald article on this service, with photos (click here).

Memorial services were held for the Senator at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C, Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu (where his first wife Maggie Awamura Inouye is buried), and on the neighbor islands of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui. U.S. President Barack Obama spoke at the Washington National Cathedral and attended the service at Punchbowl.

Inouye was also decorated for being a member of the famous & extremely courageous 442nd Regimental Combat team, which served honorably in Europe during WWII. He was a 2nd Lt. who lost his right arm in a battle in 1945 in Italy. That combat team was famous for their motto “Go fo’ broke”, which in Pidgin English means to use all your best to prevail, to “wager everything”.

He was like that, a man who exemplified excellence, competence, and dedication. As a young woman attorney I worked for him for 2 years on Capitol Hill at his Senate office, and we became friends thereafter. He was like an “Uncle” to me and our family. To read my previous tribute on the day he passed away (click here). We Hawaiians will miss him.

Mahalo nui loat (thank you very much) Senator for your decades of public service. You really did “go fo’ broke.”

I just got the news that my former boss U.S. Senator Dan Inouye, the 2nd longest serving U.S. Senator (elected 50 years ago in Nov. 1962) has passed away from respiratory complications at the Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Md. He was the highest ranking Asian American politician in U.S. history and also still the Chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

He was 88 years old and spent almost his entire life and political career in Washington D.C. My heart is saddened in my memories of the Senator — a truly principled man, a good boss, a loving father of musician Ken. He was married to Maggie Awamura of Honolulu who passed away in 2006, and then to Irene Hirano of Los Angeles, who is the former chief executive officer of the Japanese American National Museum.

Senator Inouye served honorably in the 442nd Regimental Combat team during WWII and lost his right arm thereby in 1945.
But he didn’t appear “disabled” to any of us who knew him.

I worked as one of his Legislative Aides on Capitol Hill decades ago, and was probably one of the first women lawyers on his staff. We all handled various issues for him (tracking legislation, introducing bills, research on topics) as well as constituent services of responding to letters and visits from voters from Hawaii.

One of my topics areas was civil rights and so we worked together on creation/passage of legislation that created the National Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians Act, which eventually lead to reparations for the innocent Japanese Americans who were wrongfully imprisoned in U.S. camps during WWII. I remember how committed he was to the issue and how we discussed various strategies to pass that legislation. Our bill also included the Alaskan Aleuts who were also put away into camps, as the Senator firmly believed in civil rights for all.

Many Americans remember him for his brave role in the Senate Watergate Committee hearings in the 1970′s. I remember him telling us staffers about the comment he muttered about counsel John Ehrlichman (one of President Nixon’s aides) — “What a liar” is what the press heard, but Inouye maintained he said “What a lawyer.”

U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye

Last year the Senator proudly mailed me a commemorative coin for being elected President pro tempore of the Senate, making him third in the presidential line of succession after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

More info at wikipedia.

Farewell Senator, aloha ‘oe (until we meet again).