“The Spirit of Hope Award”
1999

Presented by General Carl E. Mundy, Jr.
Presented at The Caucus Room
Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.
September 29, 1999

Recipient
SENATOR DANIEL K. INOUYE

In 1999 the USO presented “The Spirit of Hope Award” to Senator Daniel K. Inouye. “The Spirit of Hope Award” is presented to distinguished Americans whose patriotism and service to the troops reflects that of Bob Hope. Senator Inouye, a World War II veteran, has been a strong supporter of the military throughout his years in Congress.

Biography

Senator Daniel K. Inouye was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on September 7, 1924. On the day of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the 17-year-old Danny Inouye was pressed into service as head of a first-aid litter team. The grandson of an immigrant, Senator Inouye is proud and honored to have had the opportunity to defend the United States, a country that has been good to his family.

In March, 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team, fighting in France and Italy with the celebrated “Go For Broke” regiment. Senator Inouye won a battlefield commission as a 2nd Lieutenant resulting from his exceptional bravery in the unit’s rescue of a Texas unit caught in a German trap in the French Vosges Mountains. Lieutenant Inouye was wounded in combat in the Op Valley of Italy during the closing months of the war, losing his right arm to a rifle-launched grenade. After spending 20 months recovering in Army hospitals, where he met his future Senate colleague, Bob Dole, Inouye came home as a Captain with a Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart with cluster, and 12 other medals and citations.

Senator Inouye earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Hawaii in 1950, and his law degree at George Washington University Law School in 1952. He was first elected to the Territorial House of Representatives in 1954, and the Territorial Senate in 1956. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1959 as the first Congressman from the newly admitted state of Hawaii, as well as the first Japanese-American to serve in either house of Congress.

In 1962, Inouye was elected to his first term in the United States Senate. He has served six consecutive terms, making him the fourth most senior member of the Senate. During his tenure, he has played a major role in shaping the defense policies of the United States. Among his many accomplishments, Senator Inouye was instrumental in establishing the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. It is one of the few centers in the world dedicated to enhancing cooperation among the United States and Asia-Pacific nations through the study of comprehensive security issues. Senator Inouye is also an ardent supporter of the military’s U.S. Pacific Fleet, which is based in Hawaii and is charged with providing military support to areas totaling more than half the world’s surface. In addition, he was a lead sponsor of the legislation that gave reparations to Japanese American families interned during World War II.