From the Usual USAF Source:
Senator Inouye was one of the very few politicians with a "D" after their name that I respect.Sen. Daniel Inouye Dies: Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), World War II Medal of Honor recipient and the second-longest-serving Senator in US history, died from respiratory complications on Monday at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., announced his staff. He was 88. "Tonight, our country has lost a true American hero," said President Obama in a Dec. 17 statement. Born in September 1924, Inouye enlisted in the Army at age 17 shortly after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. During World War II, he served with the 442 Regimental Combat Team that consisted entirely of Americans of Japanese ancestry. Inouye lost his right arm charging a series of machine gun nests on a hill in San Terenzo, Italy, on April 21, 1945. His actions that day earned him the Medal of Honor. Inouye became Hawaii's first Congressman after Hawaii became a state in 1959. In 1962, Hawaiians elected him to the Senate, a position he held since then. "The men and women of the Department of Defense have lost one of their most dedicated advocates, and I have lost a dear friend," said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in a statement. Panetta credited Inouye for being "one of the most stalwart and effective advocates of the Department of Defense, and a relentless champion of our men and women in uniform and their families." Inouye served in the current Congress as Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, and as head of the committee's defense panel. (Inouye's Senate biography) (See also Clinton statement.)
Senator Inouye and his wife Irene
Senator Inouye, Rest in Peace Brother. Rest in Peace. May angels guide you on your way and may the love of God comfort those you left behind. Let the world know, that a grateful nation remembers. You have earned your rest proud warrior. Vaya con Dios.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
DeleteAgree, Buck. Didn't always agree with him on policy grounds, but he was a principled and honorable guy..
ReplyDeleteOT. Remember when I mentioned the Irene Pennington Planetarium in B.R? Well, come to find out that I totally missed part of the 80s history of Louisiana while in Louisville. Turns out that a B.R. oilman and philanthropist C.B. "Doc" Pennington and wife Irene donated $120 million to est the largest academic Biomedical research center IN THE WORLD at LSU (The Pennington Biomed CtR, natch) on a 234 acre campus off Perkins Road south of LSU's main campus. Check it out on Wiki! Better yet, get cracking on your genealogical survey. You might be related! And if so, hit the guy up for a HUGE loan--if not for you, then for your BFF ME!!! lol.
Even further OT - Chad Pennington former NY Jet and Miami Dolphins QB.
DeleteHeh.
@Virgil: I remember you mentioning that and I came back with "no relation." That's still true, as far as I know. ;-)
DeleteASarge: Same thing with the QB, Sarge.
There's a Pennington Road in Live Oak, California. That's up near Gridley.
ReplyDeleteThere's a Pennington, MN, too. A whole danged TOWN!
DeleteBack in my school days, I remember reading about Sen Inouye as a young boy growing up in Hawaii. The story stuck with me. Maybe I was impressed that we were reading about a real person - an alive person vs. dead history. He was an amazing man and a hero.
ReplyDeleteI think I was in my thirties when I first became aware of Senator Inouye and his story. I was pretty damned impressed then... and I remain so.
DeleteThe Senator had my respect from the first moment I became aware of him.
ReplyDeleteOT again - I'm reading a book, The Vikings, which isn't nearly as exciting (or riveting) as one might surmise. There was a stone found in Pennington, Cumbria, UK with "...mixed Old Norse and English runes. The presence of Norman decorative features on the base of the stone..."
Yep, it's a stretch, but I thought its cool.
That IS cool.
Delete