FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team held its 60th-anniversary banquet yesterday in the Sheraton-Waikiki Ballroom. During the banquet, U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye was honored for his distinguished public and military service.
442nd veterans U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye has been recognized by the president, the secretary of defense and groups around the world, but none of those honors was more poignant than the hero's welcome he received yesterday.
hail Inouye’s heroism
The Congressman is honored
Sold-out premier draws 1,000
as part of the regiment's
60th anniversaryBy Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com"Throughout my life, I have been honored many times. But to be honored by your brothers is something that I will never forget," Inouye said to more than 1,700 people who attended a luncheon in his honor as part of the 60th anniversary of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
This was the first time the unit officially recognized Inouye for his accomplishments on the battlefield and in politics.
Arnold Hiura, spokesman for the 442nd, said officials started planning the tribute a year ago. Hiura quoted anniversary committee co-chairman Ed Ichiyama as saying it's time to "tell him (Inouye) how we really feel about him."
Inouye received a standing ovation as he approached the podium at the Sheraton-Waikiki Hotel to accept the honors from his peers.
Guests included Adm. Thomas Fargo, U.S. Pacific forces commander; Lt. Gen. James Campbell, of U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific; Adm. Dennis Blair, former U.S. Pacific forces commander; U.S. Rep. Ed Case; University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle; and Fujio Matsuda, former UH president and chairman of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii.
Inouye was presented with a portrait of himself and a photograph taken the day he and six other 442nd veterans were awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award, by former President Clinton in June 2000.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Shigeyuki Yoshitake, of E Company, and Eichi Oki, of K Company, veterans of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, greeted each other in the crowd yesterday before the group's anniversary banquet at the Sheraton-Waikiki. Oki is president of the 442nd Veterans Club.
Inouye, 78, told the crowd that a person becomes a hero because of camaraderie, support and values they learned from their parents, teachers and others.
"There's no such thing as a one-man hero. ... You can't do it by yourself," he said.
In April 1945 in Italy, Inouye led his platoon within yards of enemy bunkers where they were met with gunfire. Though he suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach, Inouye was able to throw two grenades into machine gun nests before a German soldier with a rifle grenade shattered his right arm. Twenty-five German soldiers were killed and eight were captured in the attack.
Eichi Oki, president of the 442nd Veterans Club, delivered the tribute to Inouye at yesterday's luncheon.
Inouye rose above the tragedies of war and went on to make his own mark, he said. Oki noted that Inouye's military superiors recognized the leadership qualities in him.
"Though he lost his right arm, Dan continued to fight with valor. That is courage," Oki added. A short version of the documentary film "Daniel K. Inouye: An American Story" was shown. The film chronicles Inouye's life through his service in the Army and in Congress.
Inouye shared memories of the war such as having to bathe in shower trucks that came around once a month. He described how soldiers picked up clean clothes after taking a short shower and were greeted by volunteers from the American Red Cross with coffee and doughnuts.
"That moment of heaven I will never forget," Inouye said.
BACK TO TOP |
Daniel Inouye has been many things -- a war hero, a public servant, the state's first congressman, a city prosecutor, a U.S. senator and a husband and father. Sold-out ‘Inouye’ premiere
draws 1,000 to Ford IslandAssociated Press
His life is now chronicled in a documentary film, "Daniel K. Inouye: An American Story," which premiered Saturday night at a gala Pearl Harbor event on Ford Island. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, gave the keynote speech.
Inouye, dressed in a dark suit and wearing a golden floral lei, saluted sailors as he walked the red carpet to the premiere.
When asked if he would add movie star to his resume, Inouye said: "Politicians make bad movie stars. Movie stars make good politicians."
About 1,000 people attended the sold-out showing, including Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii; Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command; Gov. Linda Lingle; and former Gov. Ben Cayetano.
"I think his life is something that everybody can admire, regardless of party," Lingle, a Republican, said of the veteran Democrat. "He's certainly a hero to the state of Hawaii."
The 56-minute documentary was created by Honolulu filmmaker Heather Giugni, who began the project five years ago.
Inouye, 78, said he has known Giugni all her life. Her father, Henry Giugni, was a longtime aide to Inouye and a former Senate sergeant-at-arms.
In the documentary, Inouye speaks candidly about his memories of the attack on Pearl Harbor and how he lost his arm during combat in World War II as a member of the mostly Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
The film also captures historic moments: Inouye as speaker at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as a member of the Senate Watergate committee in 1974 and as the chairman of the Iran-Contra hearings in 1987.
Although the film touches on his personal life, Inouye said he did not think the documentary revealed anything new.
"I think my life, like a typical politician, has been an open book," he said. "So, you can't hide things from people."
Besides the photos of Inouye in office, there are also images of him as a child in Hawaii and as a handsome young soldier.
