Mr. President, I stand here today to pay tribute to the 22 men who received the Medal of Honor yesterday. As has been indicated by a number of my colleagues, one of those recipients is my dear friend and colleague from Hawaii, Senator Daniel K. Inouye. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to:

Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Second Lieutenant, 442nd Regimental Combat Team

Rudolph Davila, Staff Sergeant, 3rd Army

Barney Hajiro, Private First Class, 442nd RCT

Mikio Hasemoto, Private, 100th Battalion

Joe Hayashi, Private First Class, 442nd RCT

Shizuya Hayashi, Private, 100th Battalion

Yeiki Kobashigawa, Technical Sergeant, 100th Battalion

Robert Kuroda, Staff Sergeant, 442nd RCT

Kaoru Moto, Private First Class, 100th Battalion

Kiyoshi Muranaga, Private First Class, 442nd RCT

Masato Nakae, Private First Class, 100th Battalion

Shinyei Nakamine, Private, 100th Battalion

William Nakamura, Private First Class, 442nd RCT

Joe Nishimoto, Private, 442nd RCT

Allan Ohata, Staff Sergeant, 100th Battalion

James Okubo, Technical Sergeant, 442nd RCT

Yukio Okutsu, Technical Sergeant, 442nd RCT

Frank Ono, Private First Class, 442nd RCT

Kazuo Otani, Staff Sergeant, 442nd RCT

George Sakato, Private, 442nd RCT

Ted Tanouye, Technical Sergeant, 442nd RCT

Francis Wai, Captain, 34th Division

Mr. President, these 22 Medal of Honor recipients have joined an elite group of soldiers honored for exceptional valor in service to our country. It may have taken half a century, but the passage of time has not diminished the magnificence of their courage. These 22 men truly represent the best that America has to offer. They answered the call to duty and proved that patriotism is solely a circumstance of the heart.

These men answered the call of duty with conviction and courage, at a time when these virtues were most in demand by a needy nation. In the face of discrimination and injustice at home, these men set aside personal consideration to defend our great nation on foreign battlefields. By their actions, these 22 men proved that patriotism is not based on the color of one's skin, but on the courage and strength of one's convictions.

I am pleased to have contributed to the process that finally led to the appropriate recognition of these soldiers. Legislation initiated by the Senate required the military to review the records of all Asian Pacific American recipients of the Navy Cross or Distinguished Service Cross during World War II to determine if any merit upgrade to the Medal of Honor.

Many times I have been asked why I thought the review was necessary. The review provision was offered and adopted out of concern that Asian Pacific American veterans have never been fully recognized for their military contributions during the Second World War.

Many in Hawaii know of the exploits of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team. It came as a surprise that few on the mainland were familiar with the service of this famous all-Nisei (second generation Japanese) unit, or of the secret Military Intelligence Service whose members served in the Pacific.

Twenty of the twenty two Medal of Honor recipients honored yesterday and today are from the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Of the remaining two recipients,Sergeant Francis Davila served with the 7th Infantry and Captain Francis Wai served with the 34th Division.

Few people realize the history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. On December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, a call went out for all University of Hawaii ROTC members to report for duty. These students, most of whom were Americans of Japanese ancestry, responded to the call and were fully prepared to defend the United States. 370 of the Japanese American ROTC cadets were sworn into the Hawaii Territorial Guard and guarded the most sensitive and important installations in Hawaii.

Due to the shock at the attack on Pearl Harbor and an unfortunate ignorance by some of the culture and racial makeup of the citizens in Hawaii, there were individuals who opposed Japanese Americans serving in the Territorial Guard. The 370 Japanese Americans who had served faithfully, willingly and patriotically during the weeks following Pearl Harbor, were dismissed from the Territorial Guard because of their ancestry. Instead of rebelling, resigning, or protesting, these men wrote to the Commanding General of the Hawaiian Department and stated their "willingness to do their part as loyal Americans in every way" and offered themselves for "whatever you may see fit to use us."

These men formed the Varsity Victory Volunteers and worked at the quarries, constructed roads, helped construct warehouses, renovated quarters, strung barbed wire and built chairs, tables and lamps. They even donated blood and bought bonds. We cannot forget that these men were students and could have been making money in white collar jobs. Instead, they devoted their time to doing what they could to help the military. It was this group of Japanese American volunteers, the Varsity Victory Volunteers, who were eventually given the authorization by the War Department to form the 442nd Regimental Combat Team,which would earn the distinction as the "most decorated unit for its size and length of service in the history of the United States."

Their motto, "Go for Broke," is a perfect description of their spirit and character as men and as a fighting unit. The 442nd and 100th Battalion captured enemy positions and rescued comrades. They completed missions that seemed impossible. Ignoring danger, they repeatedly placed themselves in harm's way, gaining a reputation for fearless and fierce fighting. Throughout the Army their bravery earned them the nickname the "Purple Heart Battalion."

In 1943, when the War Department decided to accept Nisei volunteers, over 1000 Hawaii Nisei volunteered on the first day. The spirit and attitude of these volunteers is captured in the senior Senator from Hawaii's memoir, Journey to Washington. I want to read an excerpt from the book describing an exchange between young Dan Inouye and his father as he left to report for induction.

"After a long period of silence between us, he said unexpectedly, 'You know what on means?'

'Yes,' I replied. On is at the very heart of Japanese culture. On requires that when one man is aided by another, he incurs a debt that is never canceled, one that must be repaid at every opportunity.

'The Inouyes have great on for America,' my father said. 'It has been good to us. And now it is you who must try to return the goodness. You are my first son, and you are very precious to your mother and me, but you must do what must be done.'"

Mr. President, for over sixty years, my friend and colleague, the senior Senator from Hawaii, has returned to America the goodness and service to honor his father's admonition. On the field of battle in Italy, in the Territorial legislature, and for over 40 years in Congress, Dan Inouye has served his country with distinction and courage. His leadership on national defense, civil rights, and a host of other issues have made America a stronger and better country. I am proud to serve with him in the United States Senate.

Mr. President, the people of Hawaii are also very proud that 12 of the 22 men awarded the Medal of Honor are from Hawaii. My Honolulu office received a call the other day from a constituent in Waianae, a small community on the Leeward Coast of Oahu, who wanted to make sure that people knew that three Medal of Honor recipients were from Waianae.

Indeed, Mr. President, the people of Hawaii are proud and grateful for all the local boys who have served in defense of our nation. They are well aware of the sacrifice and hardship endured by our men in uniform during World War II and subsequent conflicts.

Out of the twenty two men honored, ten were killed in battle. Five of the recipients survived World War II, but have passed on prior to knowing that their medals were upgraded. Mr. President, that leaves us with seven living recipients, five of whom, I am proud to say, are from the State of Hawaii.

I see this as an opportunity to inform the American public about the degree and level of participation of Asian Pacific Americans in the war effort. I thank President Clinton, Secretary of Defense William Cohen, and Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera for the painstaking and thorough manner in which the review and nomination process was conducted. I commend Secretary Caldera and all the Army personnel who conducted this review in a thorough and professional manner. They carried out the difficult task of identifying the records of more than one hundred veterans.

I would also like to acknowledge the 442nd Veterans Club, and Club 100 for their unwavering support and assistance in the review process. I want to thank Ed Ichiyama, Sakae Takahashi and Iwao Yokooji for their tremendous work in recognizing the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans in military intelligence and the frontlines of battle. The accounts documented for each of the 104 Distinguished Service Cross recipients underscore our faith in a nation that produces such heroes and are a wonderful legacy for our children and grandchildren.

I would also like to pay tribute to the Military Intelligence Service, whose unit citation was signed by Secretary Caldera last night, because in a profound way, my interest in this area began with the MIS. About ten years ago, I heard of the late Colonel Richard Sakakida's remarkable experiences as an Army undercover agent in the Philippines during World War II. His MIS colleagues worked to have his extraordinary service honored by our government and the Government of the Philippines. While working to have Colonel Sakakida's service acknowledged with appropriate decoration, I realized that there were many war heroes whose valiant service had been overlooked. I recalled that only two Asian Pacific Americans received the Medal of Honor for service during World War II. The number seemed too low when you consider the high-intensity combat experienced by the 100th and 442nd, the service of 12,000 Filipino Americans in the U.S. Army, and the dangerous assignments taken by the 6,000 members of the MIS.

President Truman recognized it for what it was on a rain-drenched day in 1945, when during a White House ceremony honoring the 100th and 442nd, he observed, "you fought not only the enemy, you fought prejudice, and you have won."

Mr. President, these men are not being awarded the Medal of Honor because of their race. They are being given their due recognition for their exceptional acts of valor. Fifty-five years ago, our country refused to appropriately recognize that these men distinguished themselves by gallantry and audacious courage, risking their lives in service above and beyond the call of duty.

Mr. President, this is a great day to be an American and I am honored to stand before you to pay tribute to these 22 men who fought to defend our great nation. In their memory and in celebration of our nation's everlasting commitment to justice and liberty, I honor these twenty two men and their achievements and offer them the highest praise for all they have done to keep us free.

I yield the floor.