oyuki

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Daniel Inouye, Sen [HI-D]

Everyone is presently scratching their heads over the race in Hawaii. Inouye leads his challenger by a mere 11% and its two weeks from decision day. Last time these two went head to head, Inouye got 75% of the vote. Perhaps being in the Senate since 1962 has caused many people in Hawai'i to want some change. Long gone are those heady days when a brash young Daniel Inouye declared to his supporters he would willingly give his other arm to defend his country. He has been in office ever since that hare-brained smear levied by Republicans blew up in their faces.

There is no denying Inouye's heroism as part of the fabled 442d Regimental Combat Team. Losing an arm while clearing out a nest of machine gun pits does rank up there in the heroism department. And Inouye was duly recognized by the US Army with the award of a Distinguished Service Cross[DSC].

A whiff of a problem presents itself in 1995 when Sen. Daniel K. Akaka[HI-D], with the assistance of Sen. Sam Nunn[D-GA], introduced an amendment S.AMDT 2100 directing the Secretary of the Army to review the DSC's awarded to Asian-American and Native American-Pacific Islanders to see if they should be upgraded to the Medal of Honor. It was passed by a voice vote so no record exists of who voted for it. Strangely in 1998, the Army records review recommended 21 upgrades. Among those 21 was Sen. Daniel Inouye[HI-D]. So on June 21, 2000, President bill Clinton awarded the Medal of Honor to Daniel Inouye.

2 comments:

Rides A Pale Horse said...

And Maj. Richard D.(Dick) Winters of "Band of Brothers" fame, Easy Company, 506th P.I.R. 101rst Airborne Division, another true WWII hero, whose battlefield tactics are still taught at West Point has STILL not been considered for the CMOH which he so richly deserves.

Anna said...

I guess he needs to find a Congress critter to push it forward. That is the only way since the statue of limitations is long past unless a fellow soldier has documents showing it was submitted and gotten lost.