Rerun: Daniel Inouye

Hi, I'm Ken Harbaugh, host of the Medal of Honor podcast. We recently passed our 100th episode of this show, and to celebrate, we are looking back on some of our favorite stories. Thank you for all of your support, and we hope you enjoy this episode.

When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, 17-year-old Daniel Inouye was on the ground providing first aid to civilian casualties. Following the attack, Japanese Americans faced violence and discrimination, including a forcible relocation to internment camps and a ban from military service. But by 1943, the military desperately needed fighting men and lifted the ban on Japanese Americans. Daniel immediately enlisted in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated Japanese-American unit. The 442nd would become the most decorated unit in American military history. By April of 1945, Inouye was a 2nd Lieutenant commanding his own platoon. His unit was sent to San Torenzo, Italy, tasked with pushing back German troops dug into a mountainside. While exposed to enemy fire, 2nd Lieutenant Inouye was shot in the torso. He and his men were pinned down by three machine gun nests. Despite his injury, Inouye destroyed two of them. He was making his way towards the third machine gun with a grenade in his right hand when German fire nearly severed that arm. But Second Lieutenant Inouye pried the grenade loose with his remaining hand and threw it, destroying the bunker. Inouye was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions that day. Members of the 442nd were believed to have been denied higher recognition due to their race. In 2000, President Bill Clinton upgraded Inouye's award to the Medal of Honor. After his military service, Inouye would become Hawaii's first member of Congress when it achieved statehood in 1959, and the first Japanese-American to serve in the House of Representatives. Inouye never lost an election in 58 years, serving nine six-year terms in the Senate. At the time of his death in 2012, Daniel Inouye was the most senior senator and the highest-ranking public official of Asian descent in the United States.

The Medal of Honor podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.

Nathan Corson is our executive producer and mixing engineer. Declan Roars is our associate producer, scriptwriter, and recording engineer. And I'm Ken Harbaugh.

We are proud to support the National Medal of Honor Museum. To learn more and to support their mission, go to mohmuseum.org. Thanks for listening.