Home > U.S. Immigration and Migration > Daniel K. Inouye Biography

Born September 7, 1924

Honolulu, Hawaii

U.S. senator and decorated World War II hero

"My grandparents came over from Japan as migrant workers in the sugar cane fields. Both were semiliterate … and obviously, they were impoverished. Who in his right mind would have said their grandson would be sitting here [in the U.S. Capitol]?"

Daniel K. Inouye was the first American of Japanese descent to serve in the U.S. Congress. A hero from World War II (1939–45), he was awarded several medals for bravery. Inouye was elected the U.S. representative when Hawaii first became a state in 1959. In 1962, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and was reelected six more times. Inouye is best known as a longtime activist for civil rights and for serving on several historic Senate panels, including the nationally televised Senate Watergate Committee Hearings (1973–74). The committee investigated...