Daniel Ken Inouye was an American attorney, soldier, and politician who served as a United States senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. Beginning in 1959, he was the first U.S. Representative for the State of Hawaii, and a Medal of Honor recipient. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the president pro tempore of the United States Senate from 2010 until his death. Inouye was the highest-ranking Asian-American politician in U.S. history until Kamala Harris became vice president in 2021. Inouye also chaired various senate committees, including those on Intelligence, Indian Affairs, Commerce, and Appropriations.
Official portrait, 2008
Inouye as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army
Inouye (left) with his friend and future fellow senator Bob Dole (next to Inouye), playing cards while recovering at Percy Jones Army Hospital.
Inouye with President John F. Kennedy in 1962
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians, and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States and is presented "in the name of the United States Congress." It is often, not strictly correctly, referred to as the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Medals of honor of three of the six military departments
Medal of Honor awarded posthumously in 1866 to John Morehead Scott, one of the Andrews Raiders
Army Medal of Honor
Post 1944 Army version
