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On a spring morning in 1943, 19 year-old Daniel Inouye went off to war. Accompanied by his father, Hyotoro, he rode a Honolulu street car to the military pick up point. Neither said a word during the ride, they just looked straight ahead. Hyotoro Inouye was not a talkative man. In parting they shook hands with stoic formality and Hyotoro cleared his throat and said, "America has been good to us. It has given me two jobs. It has given you and your sisters and brothers education. We all love this country. Whatever you do, do not dishonor your country. Remember: Never dishonor your family. And if you must give your life, do so with honor." It is an understatement to say that Daniel took his father's words to heart. Thousand upon thousands of American men and women served with distinction and honor during WW II, but Daniel Inouye became part of a rarified fraternity of servicemen whose actions in combat went above and beyond the call of duty and earned our nations highest military accolade, the Medal of Honor. There is a certain irony that it should be so. Daniel Inouye is a Nisei, a second-generation Japanese-American. After December 7, 1941 all Nisei were initially classified 4-C, enemy alien. It took an executive order from President Roosevelt in late 1942 to rectify a blanket injustice. And shortly thereafter, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all Japanese-American unit, was mustered.The motto of the 442nd was Go for Broke, and indeed they did, becoming the most decorated unit in the history of the American Army, as well as sustaining the highest rate of casualties.  Daniel Inouye as he went off to war in 1943. Entering combat in the Rome-Arno campaign in June 1943, the 442nd got its share of dirty jobs, and then some. At times the men of the 442nd wondered if they were considered expendable. After fiercely battling their way north from Rome, the 442nd was sent to join the fight in France. There, in the autumn of '44, they participated in the relief and rescue of the 1st Battalion of the 141st Infantry of the Texas National Guard; 200 men surrounded by what amounted to a German division. The episode, known as the Rescue of the Lost Battalion, produced 800 casualties among the 442nd, including 300 deaths. It was on the fifth day of that effort that Inouye received his battle-field commission as 2nd Lieutenant. But it was months later, on April 20 of '45, on a ridge called Colle Musatello, near San Terenzo, Italy, where Inouye and his comrades literalized the unit motto and displayed gallantry of the highest magnitude. Ordered to assault the heavily fortified ridge, E Company, under Inouye's command, was confronted with a crossfire from three machine gun nests. Inouye personally took out all three guns. He received a bullet in the abdomen as he tossed his grenade into the first nest. Ignoring his wound he worked his way forward and took out the second emplacement with a pair of grenades. After working his way around the flank of the third machine gun he stood up to throw yet another grenade. As he pulled the pin, an enemy soldier fired a rifle grenade from ten yards away that virtually blew off his right arm. Inouye then pried his grenade from the frozen fingers of his own shredded arm, the lever snapping open as he did so. He tossed the grenade into the face of the enemy soldier who was reloading and the grenade found its target. Inouye then picked up his tommy gun with his left hand and charged the third machine gun, firing as he advanced. Although he has no recollection of what happened after that, the verified citation states that "Despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions." 2nd Lt. Inouye had indeed "gone for broke," and his body was indeed broken. But his spirit was not. After 20 months in the hospital, Captain Inouye returned home wearing the Distinguished Service Cross, a Purple Heart, and a Bronze Star, among a dozen other medals and citations. His right arm remained in Italy.
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