Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, Hawaii, Heroes, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, Medal of Honor, President pro tempore, Senator Daniel Inouye, United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, World War II
USS Daniel Inouye Commissioned Today
Task & Purpose photo composite from this article
This morning the United States Navy will officially commission their newest Arleigh Burke-class destroyer as the USS Daniel Inouye. The destroyer will be based out of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Daniel Inouye was elected to Hawaii's territorial House of Representatives in 1953. He was elected to the territorial Senate in 1957. When Hawai'i achieved statehood in 1959, Inouye was elected as its first member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Inouye served as a Senator from Hawai'i from 1963 until his death in 2012.
A member of the Democratic Party, he was President pro tempore of the United States Senate (and therefore third in the presidential line of succession) from 2010 until his death. Inouye never lost an election as an elected official, and he exercised an exceptionally large influence on Hawai'i politics.
For those too young to know, Daniel Inouye was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during World War II. The Task & Purpose website posted an article about his life and it has links to short videos featuring the late senator.
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