Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Tribute to Senator Daniel Inouye
Mr. President, I rise, as so many of my colleagues have, to mourn and pay tribute to Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.
He was a giant of the Senate. He was an individual whose courage, whose compassion, and whose commitment to this country has never been exceeded by anyone who served here--indeed, by any American I can think of.
A few years ago, I was asked to introduce the Senator at an event. I wrote down some points on a card that I kept on my desk, and will forever keep on my desk:
Second Lieutenant Daniel K. Inouye, E Company, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, San Terenzo, Italy, April 21, 1945.
That was the day he was wounded leading his platoon against an enemy pillbox, the day for which he would be ultimately awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions.
Then I have another date: May 8, 1945. That was VE Day, the end of the war. Seventeen days before the end of the war, when Berlin was encircled and collapsing, when American forces were rushing and the end was clear, and indeed every soldier recognized that the war was coming to an end, Senator Inouye didn't stop serving, didn't stop sacrificing, didn't stop giving his all to protect his soldiers and accomplish his mission. Indeed, that spirit of never giving up, of never failing to do his duty, animated his service in the Senate, animated his service to this country, and to the State of Hawaii.
At the time I gave these remarks, he was 1 of 90 living holders of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Today we mourn his passing, his contributions to Hawaii, his contributions to this Senate which he held in the highest esteem and which he personified so grandly.
I think one of the factors that led him to a career in public service and led him to such distinguished service was the recognition--not theoretically but practically--that despite his great suffering and sacrifice, he was lucky because there were many other young men and women who perished in that war and in subsequent wars; that he had sacrificed much but had not given his life, although he very nearly gave his life.
At the outset of the war, the Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish, wrote:
They say, We were young. We have died. Remember us.
They say, We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done.
They say, We have given our lives but until it is finished no one can know what our lives gave.
They say, Our deaths are not ours: they are yours: they will mean what you make them.
They say, Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope or for nothing we cannot say: it is you who must say this.
In everything Dan Inouye did, he spoke for those soldiers. He gave their lives meaning by his selfless service and sacrifice to this Nation. He gave it every day by making this place--this country--live up to its highest ideals, a place of opportunity for all, a place of fairness and decency. He did it as few did.
So those voices that were stilled in 1945, and in the Korean War and in the war in Vietnam and subsequent wars, always had a voice here; and it wasn't just words, it was actions. His life gave meaning, and that might be one of the highest achievements anyone can reach in this life.
We all know his extraordinary service in so many different ways. We know also, in one of the great coincidences, three young men were in an Army hospital in Michigan: Dan Inouye, Phil Hart, and Bob Dole, American heroes; and that later they would come to this Senate and serve with distinction. I think it was particularly meaningful that just a few days ago Senator Robert Dole--another great American--was on the floor of this Senate, still serving, still emblematic of the ``greatest generation.''
We will miss Senator Inouye. There are few words and not enough eloquence to describe the loss. I, too, particularly want to thank and extend my condolences to his wife Irene, to his son Ken, to his daughter-in-law Jessica, to his granddaughter Maggie, and to his stepdaughter Jennifer Hirano. They have lost more than any of us because they have lost a husband, a father, and a grandfather.
Let me just conclude with the words uttered centuries ago by Thucydides:
The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.
Dan Inouye knew the dangers. Dan Inouye knew that the glory was fleeting, and in fact combat wasn't particularly glorious at all. But he knew it was honorable to serve. He knew it was honorable to sacrifice for his soldiers and for his comrades. He knew it was honorable and decent to serve his State and his Nation, and he never failed to go forth to meet the challenges of his time.
Now it is our time. Now we must give words and meaning to the voices that have been stilled in the service to this Nation. One of those giants and one of those powerful voices was Senator Daniel Inouye. The test will be whether we can measure up to what he did, and I hope for the sake of this country we can.