THIS MONTH'S FAMOUS PERSON AND VETERAN IS:
Daniel K.Inouye
US Senator Hawaii
US ARMY -Medal of Honor
Inouye served with the 442nd "Go For Broke" Regimental Combat Team, consisting largely of Soldiers with Japanese ancestry, during World War II. The unit earned the distinction of being the most highly decorated unit of its size and length of active service in U.S. military history.
Inouye lost his right hand in an April 21, 1945 battle near San Terenzo, Italy, during which he led his platoon to capture a key ridge. Originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions that day, it was upgraded to the Medal of Honor and presented to him by the president in 2000. His award citation describes Inouye crawling up a dangerous slope to lob two grenades at an enemy machine gun, destroying it, and then taking out a second gun nest. He was shot, but continued to fight until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Inouye refused to be evacuated until his platoon was in control of the area, the citation said.
After the war, Inouye graduated from the University of Hawaii and the George Washington University Law School, working as a deputy public prosecutor in Honolulu before getting into politics in 1954. He was the first congressman elected from Hawaii after it became a state and has served in the Senate for seven consecutive terms.