We’d like you to retrace your steps to your life before the war. Could you tell us about where you were born?

Daniel Inouye: I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. In fact, I can just about picture it for you. Across from the Pacific Club. Ironically, the Pacific Club was a club for the titans of industry. The Big Boys. But I think it might be a bit more interesting if I told you a few years before then…

My grandparents, from the southern island of Japan, Kyushu, walked all the way from Kyushu to Tokyo, Yokohama, to get on a ship — and this was the first of July, I believe, or fourth of July — on the Shanghai Maru. It took about 30 days, arrived in Honolulu about the 25th of July, 1899. To work in a plantation. They were given about three days of health examinations and such, and on the 28th they were shipped off to the island of Kauai. And there they worked in the plantations for over 20 years. They had a goal to make $300, because the family had a debt that had to be paid, which was a matter of honor for them. My father had had gone over as a child of two. About that time a law was passed by the United States making it impossible for any one of these immigrants to become naturalized, no matter how good they were. But that was the beginning.

My father was, I would say, a Buddhist. My grandparents are Buddhist. My mother, on the other hand, was a child of immigrant parents also, from Hiroshima, on the island of Maui, but at the time of her birth her mother died. And then her father died four years later, so here she was literally on the street. Because her father was a plantation worker, and no longer in existence, so that house went to the next worker. But fortunately, about a month after his passing, a young Hawaiian couple came by, took her by the hand, and took her home, and in the Hawaiian fashion adopted her: hanai. She was also brought up as a Buddhist as a child. But about a year after the Hawaiian family had discovered her, she was also discovered by the Methodist pastor in Lahaina. And he took the attitude “Orphans belong in orphanages,” and so shipped her off to Honolulu as a young child. But here everything changes. She went to the orphanage, and on the first Sunday afternoon all the young girls of Asian extraction were lined up, and the bishop of the church came by and they went through the ritual: “What is your name? What would you like?” And the answer was always, “A piece of candy.” My mother had no idea what it was. So she said, “I want a home.” And the bishop took her home, believe it or not, and she was adopted by the bishop. So until she passed away, her two sisters were blonde and blue-eyed, her brother blond and blue-eyed, and her father’s name was Daniel Kleinfelter. Dr. Bishop Daniel Kleinfelter. I’m named after him. So that’s my beginning.

How about school? Do you have an early memory of school in Hawaii?

Daniel Inouye: Yes, they were all public schools. I went to kindergarten, and I had a lovely time there. It was an Episcopal kindergarten. My mother and my father were Methodist, but I became, very proudly, a Holder of the Cross. And it became a big time for me, at the age of four, walking down the aisle. So that was my first big achievement. And on Christmas Eve I was the first King in the Three Kings of Orient. So that was another great achievement. I’ll never forget those days. They were good days.

Were you a good student? Did you like school?

Daniel Inouye: I was the eldest son. And from as early as I can recall it was pounded into me that you are the eldest son, you are to make certain sacrifices. And the word “honor.” Can you imagine a three-year-old kid, being lectured about honor? But that became a key word. For example, when I left Hawaii to put on the uniform I was 18 years old. My father and I were on the streetcar, going towards the departure point, and the only thing he said was, “Whatever you do, do not dishonor the family. Do not dishonor the country. And if you must die, die with honor.” I’m an 18-year-old kid and he’s telling me that! And I understood exactly what he meant. While I was the eldest, I had a sister, right below me, and two brothers.

How about books that you read when you were a child? Was there any particular book that you enjoyed?

Daniel Inouye: The first book that I recall reading was The Three Bears. Mama, Papa, Baby Bear. And that was my mother reading it to me. I must have been about two years old, but I’ve loved bears ever since!

How about when you were a little bit older? Was there a teacher or mentor or another adult that inspired or challenged or motivated you?

Daniel Inouye: The first motivating teacher came in about my first year in high school. Now if you can picture me at that time, we hardly wore shoes. As I told a committee once, a committee that questioned my application for the Honor Society. “Why don’t you wear shoes?” And I told them very clearly, “Shoes are for funerals, church services, weddings and extraordinary days. Otherwise, I am barefooted.” And that’s the way most of my colleagues were, young kids.

Do you have any early memories of discrimination?

Daniel Inouye: I was too young. We all lived in enclaves — the Japanese area, Filipino area, Chinese, Hawaiian — but in school we were all together. Most of the teachers were white, but most of the students were either Asian or Polynesian, and a few white. And in Hawaii — this may sound strange — at that time, those of Portuguese ancestry didn’t consider themselves white. “We are Portuguese.” They were very proud of it. Very insular people, hard working, but they always differentiated themselves. So when we said “white” in Hawaii, in my generation, it did not include the Portuguese. So in elementary school I’d say it was one percent White and the rest were “Us.” It was the same thing in intermediate school and high school. In high school I think the largest group were of Japanese ancestry.

Did you find that different groups were discriminated against?

Daniel Inouye: We had a segregated school system. Most people don’t remember that, because that’s a long, long time ago. It was called English Standard Schools. You had to pass certain examinations. Not just written, but the spoken language. And usually, those of us who came from these enclaves would not make the test. Because, for example, I took the test just for the hell of it and I got a perfect paper. But when I faced a teacher, she immediately knew I spoke pidgin, and I flunked! But that’s the way it was. English Standard Schools, it was a public school. About ten percent were non-white, 90 percent were White. This went on until about 1956, and it was completely wiped out then.

Did something happen around this time that motivated you to study medicine?

Daniel Inouye: When I was in the seventh grade, during one of the sporting events, wrestling, I fell the wrong way and I fractured my elbow. Compound fracture. It was rather bad. The bone protruded. But somehow, my parents couldn’t afford a first class orthopedic surgeon, so believe it or not we got one of these judo specialists, like a sports physician. And naturally he didn’t do a good job, because this was a compound fracture. To make a long story short, my mother finally took me to Shriners (Hospital), and got hold of Dr. Craig, a very important person. He was the head orthopedic surgeon. He looked me over, and he says, “Okay.” We had surgery, turned out well, good enough to be admitted into the service. I never forgot him, because about a week after my surgery, my mother and I went to his office, and there my mother said, “It may take us a lifetime, but I’ll pay you.” He said, “Did I ever mention a fee?” He said, “All you do is pay for the operating room, which is $25. And my services? Your payment will be you’ll be a good student.” And here I was. And right then, I said, “I’m going to be an orthopedic surgeon.”

At what point did you join the Red Cross as a medical aide?

Daniel Inouye: I was about 16 then, in my first year of high school. A lot of the kids took part, and I wanted to know something about first aid. Not because I wanted to be a doctor, but I thought first aid was fine. By 1941 I was a rather senior fellow. Even at the age of 17 I was in charge of all the medical aid men. We had this Aid Station. This is in 1941, just before the attack. So when the attack came, our Aid Stations were already set. Now these Aid Stations were for local problems. We had an ambulance and it worked out well. So I worked in the Aid Station on the night shift and went to school during the day. And on December the 7th, I don’t know whether you’d call it an honor, but people tell me that I picked up the first civilian dead, and somehow I did not faint or throw up. I did my job.

Tell us about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Can you tell us how that day started out for you?

Daniel Inouye: I was, like the rest of the family, getting ready for church. It was Sunday, December 7, 1941. And as every Sunday, I had the little radio on, listening to music, and the disc jockey was saying, “The next song is this and this and this…”. And he’d be playing, and I was putting on my necktie, and all of a sudden he started screaming, “The Japs are bombing us! This is no exercise!” And I said, “Well, this is crazy. It must be part of the show.” You know? Because Orson Welles had done something like that just about that time. So I didn’t take it seriously. But then he kept on it. Screaming and yelling. No music. So I decided to go out, and I looked out towards Pearl Harbor, and my God! There were puffs, anti-aircraft, and aircraft flying, and all of a sudden three of them, flew above us, above me. It was grey with red dots on the wing. I knew they were Japanese. I used some profanity then, but I figured the world had come to an end there. So I called my father and said, “You’d better come out and take a look,” and I immediately knew what I have to do. I took off my Sunday clothes, put on my work clothes, went to the Aid Station, and I was away for about a week.

So you saw the first casualties come in that day?

Daniel Inouye: On the first day I was in charge of that team, stretcher team. First was a woman, I’ll never forget, part of her head was sliced off. Shrapnel. But ironically, it happened that these shells were our shells. In the excitement, the crew in charge of the anti-aircraft battery had forgotten to put the timer on. See, the shells have to have a timer, so that when it gets up to a certain height it explodes. Sometimes you want it lower, sometimes you want it higher. But this time they forgot to do it, so it just went up and down. It hit the ground and exploded. And so it just happened that it hit right in our neighborhood. The first one was this old lady having breakfast. The second one was about six people, the shops had just opened. And the worst one was a mother holding her child. Her head was sliced off, her legs were sliced off. And the baby’s head — clop! —in the bottom. There’s a little story to this, because that afternoon the husband, who happened to be away on the other side of the island doing some work, came by for them when the war started, and looked for his family, came to the Aid Station. “Is my wife wounded?” I said, “Yes.” “I’d like to see her.” I said, “No.” And he insisted, and the doctor said, “Show her to him.” I said, “Doc, if you show that remains to him, he’s going to go nuts.” Sure enough, he ended up in the insane asylum. That’s how it happens. So I was ready for the war.

You were ready to sign up. Is it true they wouldn’t take you at first?

Daniel Inouye: I had gone to the Draft Board to say, “I want to sign up,” and they said, “No, you are 4-C.” I had no idea what 4-C was, though. So I had to inquire, “What is a 4-C?” “You’re enemy.” Ho! To be told by a fellow American that you’re an enemy, that’s stunning. I could never forget that. I was just 18 at that time. And like most young men I wanted to serve my country. Put on a uniform and do our business. Well, about three weeks after the bombing we got word that we of Japanese ancestry, were declared to be 4-C. 1-A is physically fit and mentally alert. 4-F is, something’s wrong with you physically or mentally. 4-C is the designation for “enemy alien.” I was made an enemy, and as a result, I was not qualified to put on the uniform. So I couldn’t be drafted, I couldn’t volunteer. So we got together, Japanese Americans, and began petitioning the President to say, “Look, give us an opportunity to show our stuff.” And in December of 1942 a decision was made, was announced in January, that they’ll take volunteers to form a Japanese American regiment. And 85 percent of those in Hawaii who were qualified volunteered. Pretty good. To make a long story short, I got in at 18. I was second to the last to get in, because I was exempted, ’cause I was in the Aid Station, and I was in college as a pre-med. Doctors and pre-meds were set aside as essential, and those of us in the Aid Station were considered essential. So I quit school, I quit my job, and I went back and I said, “I’m ready.” So I got in. I was one of the youngest in the regiment. I got a commission. I was too young, but they gave me a commission when I was 20. But at the age of 19 I was a platoon leader.

While you were trying to enlist, wasn’t this the same time that Japanese Americans on the mainland were being interned?

Daniel Inouye: A decision had been made, just about the same time, to put them all in camps. So initially they were put in whatever was available. So thousands spent time in Santa Anita race track, where the horses slept. Those were strange days for them. And when the camps were made, they were just wooden shacks. They were shipped off to faraway, desolate places in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Arkansas, away from big cities and such, 120,000 of ’em. And none of them had committed a crime. Later on, after the war, when the investigations were held — not a single violator of the law.

What were the feelings of your community in Hawaii about what was happening to Japanese Americans on the mainland?

Daniel Inouye: We had no idea, because everything was censored. The newspapers were all censored. There were people who knew about it, but not a young kid of 17 or 18.

I had no idea. When we got on the ship to go to California, it was my first trip outside Hawaii. We had no idea where we were headed for. When we got to Oakland the word came down we were going to Mississippi. And the only thing that most of us could think about in Mississippi was what we read. They lynch people there. That’s what you read in the papers. So the outlook wasn’t that good. We got on the train, and we were told that whenever we approached a city, a word will come down and we bring down the shade. Understandably, because if we went through this railroad station and the shades were up, and people looked in and saw me, they would think I’m a prisoner of war. I look Asian. So they thought the best way to avoid problems is to lock up the train, and we would lift up the shades when we left the town or the village or the city. So we saw beautiful America — Grand Canyon and places like that. But when we got to Mississippi — this must have been about five days later — we expected the worst, and lo and behold, there were about 50 women lined up at the train station in gray Red Cross uniforms. They were all white women. And it was quite an eye-opener, because in Hawaii I had never been served by a white woman. Most of the waitresses and waiters where I went to dine, the little coffee shops and such, were all Japanese or Chinese or Filipinos. So this was elegant white ladies serving us coffee and donuts. And then, later on, several families opened their farms and invited us to come over. But the real kicker was the U.S.O. About a month after we arrived there, they sent an invitation: “We’re having a dance for you. So if you’re interested, we’ll be at this auditorium,” what have you. And I decided I’d go. My first dance was with a blonde! Never had one before. That’s achievement! When you consider coming up with the background I had, it was an achievement. How can you ever forget that? It was very pleasant. It gave us a little drive that America wasn’t bad, even if they declared that I was an enemy alien. And I was an enemy alien until the end of the war.

What was basic training like? Did you get more or less training than other units?

Daniel Inouye: We got more than the usual amount of basic training because we trained as a unit. Not to train us off to be shipped off to some division, or some regiment. We were a special unit, and as such we became a combat team. We had our own artillery, our own engineers, our own medic. So it was a unit that could be deployed anywhere. Self-sufficient.

How long was the basic training?

Daniel Inouye: Eleven months. That’s long, because usually it’s about six months. We had to train to do battle as a unit, not just to fire as individuals.

Did you learn something after you joined the military that you hadn’t known before you signed up?

Daniel Inouye: You must keep in mind that my mother was a devout Methodist. She was a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Saloon busters, you know? So going to church was part of my life. At the time of December the 7th, I was a Sunday School teacher. Sang in a choir. I would say I was a good Christian boy. Read from the Bible. I still do. The Ten Commandments. And so here I am now in uniform, and we get out to the firing range, and I find that I’m the best shot in the company. I couldn’t make sense of it, because I had never fired a gun in my life. And the instructor said, “That’s why you’re good. You don’t have any bad habits. You just follow instructions.” So my first assignment, which lasted about a month, I was a sniper. But then they made me an assistant squad leader, so they gave me a couple of stripes. I was too young for that.

You were an assistant squad leader?

Daniel Inouye: Yep. I became assistant squad leader, and went overseas as such. But in the first battle, everything happens, the squad leader gets killed, I become squad leader. And before you know it I was platoon leader. It was a mess.

Why do you say that you were too young for that?

Daniel Inouye: Eighteen? Shaved twice a week. There was only one person younger than me. I had to convince my fellow soldiers that I was worthy of being a sergeant. These guys were older, bigger, and I’m a Sunday School teacher. I had to do a lot of things to prove myself to them. Don’t mess with me.

We have one more question about the 442nd Regiment. Was it integrated?

Daniel Inouye: It was segregated. In the beginning, most of our officers were white, but as we moved along in the war, my colonel had a policy, if there were men worthy of leadership, we make them leaders. On my 20th birthday they submitted my name. I had no idea. I figured I was too young at that age. But one day I found out I was a lieutenant.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton honored you with the highest military decoration the United States can bestow, the Medal of Honor. This was 55 years after the war. Do you think that was too late?

Daniel Inouye: No, I was surprised. It was something. I knew that a study had been made, because a bill had been introduced to see if Distinguished Service Crosses could be upgraded, not just for us, but throughout the Army, and 21 of us got upgraded. I’ve always felt that if I am deserving of the Medal of Honor, there are many, many others who are. I felt a little bad receiving it, so I received it on behalf of the fellows, because there’s no such thing as a single-handed war. There’s always a support group, and if you didn’t have people who supported you, you couldn’t fight a war.

In 2009, you were appointed as the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. One question that is on a lot of American’s minds right now is how do we dig our way out of our debt?

Daniel Inouye: That’s a good question. The bill that we have provided, which has always been passed by the Senate, as it’s part of the Administration’s request, but it was always balanced. So much money income, so much we spend. But it’s a heavy load, because I’m also chairman of the subcommittee on defense appropriations and we’re engaged in two wars now, plus a few other small ones around the world, and it takes a lot of money. The other thing is…

Most people may not think about it, but the aftermath of war is very costly. Costly not just in lives, but the treatment. Because of the efficiency of our transportation system, the efficiency of our medical technicians, people are surviving. If you go to Walter Reed right now, you’ll see dozens of double amputees, and you’ll see triple amputees and quadruple amputees, which was almost impossible in World War II. They did not survive. We had one of the highest casualties in Europe, my regiment. We were also the most decorated in the history of the United States. But no double amputee survived, and I know we had several. No brain injuries survived. So what happens? Imagine yourself as a wife, and you have to look at a brain-injured husband for the rest of your life, and he can’t talk to you. But we’re paying for this. That’s the easy part, money payment. But how do you pay for the misery? So if we can, we should be able to avoid war.

Senator, what does the American Dream mean to you? How do you define the American Dream?

Daniel Inouye: It’s a dream where you live a life that’s powerful, one in which you can get married if you want to, raise kids if you want to, get educated to the limit of your capacity, and do what makes you happy, because we all are looking for the good life. We don’t want to go through life with just fighting, fighting, fighting. I’ve gone through life. I got into Congress when we had just started Vietnam. Before that, I had friends going to Korea. My brothers went to Korea. And these were war after war after war. Today, we have a powerful military that serves as a deterrent, but the enemy we have today is not like World War II, where you sign a piece of paper and the war is over. Today they’re not in uniform. In my time we knew what the enemy looked like, we knew his weapons systems and such. Today, your cab driver may be the person, you have no idea. I don’t know how we got into this fix, but we’re there.

Thank you so much for talking with us today, Senator. Aloha.