...Back in Italy, the 442nd was assaulting a heavily defended hill in the closing months of World War II when Lieutenant Inouye was hit in his abdomen by a bullet which came out his back, barely missing his spine. He continued to lead the platoon and advanced alone against a machine gun nest which had his men pinned down. He tossed two hand grenades with devastating effect before his right arm was shattered by a German rifle grenade at close range. Inouye threw his last grenade with his left hand, attacked with a submachine gun and was finally knocked down the hill by a bullet in the leg. Senator Inouye spent 20 months in Army hospitals after losing his right arm. On May 27, 1947, he was honorably discharged and returned home as a Captain with a Distinguished Service Cross (the second highest award for military valor), Bronze Star, Purple Heart with cluster and 12 other medals and citations. His Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to a Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for military valor. He received that medal from President Clinton, the President of the United States on June 21, 2000. When Hawaii became a state on August 21, 1959, Daniel Inouye won election to the United States House of Representatives as the new state's first Congressman. He was reelected to a full term in 1960. Elected to the United States Senate in 1962, Inouye is currently serving his seventh consecutive term in the Senate....

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