page_title: Daniel Inouye
section_title: Death
hierarchical_section_title: Daniel Inouye / Death
caption_attribution_description: A joint military honor guard folds a U.S. flag over U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye?s casket during a service for the senator at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu Dec. 23, 2012. Inouye was an Army World War II combat veteran who earned the Medal of Honor. (DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth, U.S. Air Force/Released)
context_page_description: Daniel Ken Inouye served as a United States Senator from Hawaii from 1963 until his death in 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he was President pro tempore of the United States Senate from 2010 until his death, making him the highest-ranking Asian-American politician in U.S. history. Inouye also chaired various Senate Committees, including those on Intelligence, Commerce and Appropriations.
  Inouye fought in World War II as part of the 442nd Infantry Regiment. He lost his right arm to a grenade wound and received several military decorations, including the Medal of Honor. He later earned a J.D. degree from George Washington University Law School. Returning to Hawaii, Inouye was elected to Hawaii's territorial House of Representatives in 1953, and was elected to the territorial Senate in 1957. When Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959, Inouye was elected as its first member of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962.
  Inouye never lost an election in 58 years as an elected official, and he exercised an exceptionally large influence on Hawaii politics.
  Inouye was the first Japanese American to serve in the U.S.
context_section_description: In 2012, Inouye began using a wheelchair in the Senate to preserve his knees, and received an oxygen concentrator to aid his breathing. In November 2012, he suffered a minor cut after falling in his apartment and was treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. On December 6, he was again hospitalized at George Washington University Hospital so doctors could further regulate his oxygen intake, and was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center on December 10. He died there of respiratory complications seven days later on December 17, 2012. According to the senator's Congressional website, his last word was "Aloha." Prior to his death, Inouye left a letter encouraging Governor Neil Abercrombie to appoint Colleen Hanabusa to succeed Inouye should he become incapacitated; instead Abercrombie appointed Hawaii's Lieutenant Governor Brian Schatz.
  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced Inouye's death on the floor of the Senate, referring to Inouye as "certainly one of the giants of the Senate." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell referred to Inouye as one of the finest Senators in United States history. President Barack Obama referred to him as a "true American hero."
  Inouye's body lay in state at the United States Capitol rotunda on December 20, 2012. President Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner spoke at a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral on December 21. Inouye's body was then flown to Hawaii where it lay in state at the Hawaii State Capitol on December 22. A second funeral service was held at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu the following day.
caption: A joint military honor guard folds a US flag over Inouye's casket at the National Memorial Cemetery.
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