DREAM Act Portal Forum - Senator Daniel Inouye has passed away at age 88

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His last words, according to a statement released by his staff, were “Aloha”.

Inouye has been hospitalized since early December due to respiratory problems. His cause of death was “respiratory complications”.

Inouye had served in the Senate since 1962 and represented Hawaii since 1954. He served as the Senate pro tempore — the designation for the chamber’s longest serving Senator — and the person third in line to the presidency. He also chaired the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee at the time of his death.

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This is one of those things where I feel really saddened especially when there has been a tragedy of unspeakable horrors just last week. He was a solid supporter of the DREAM Act since he empathized with our cause since he knew what it meant to feel singled out with blatant racism during his time.

He had this to say,

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"The decision made by President Obama to implement a key component of the DREAM Act is a hope restoring victory for so many young people in this country. …

There are an estimated 800,000 young people living in America who are eligible to participate in this program. The comprehensive immigration reform we claim we want cannot occur if we do not allow for the basic education of children and if we do not reciprocate the patriotic spirit of those brave enough to put on the uniform and fight for this country. …

I was born in America but after Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor I was labeled an enemy Alien by this country.

But we petitioned the government to allow us to fight and by the end of World War II the 442 Regimental Combat team had suffered the most casualties in the European campaign but was also the most decorated unit of its size in the history of the United States military. I am very proud that our President has decided to give hundreds of thousands of children the same opportunity that I was given.

And when the DA failed back in 2010

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“It is both unfortunate and ironic that on the same day a historic blow was struck for those opposed to discrimination of any kind, the Senate failed yet again to advance a measure that would have outlined a path to legal residency for immigrant children brought to this country by their parents.

The DREAM Act has been around in some form for a decade, and Senator Durbin has bravely fought for it against long odds. But despite House approval the Senate today was unable to agree that children under the age of 16 brought to this country by their parents should be granted legal residency if they remain in the country for five years and either attend college or serve in the military. There are an estimated 1.2 million people living in America who are eligible to participate in this program.

The comprehensive immigration reform we claim we want in this country will not occur if we do not allow for the basic education of children and if we do not nurture the patriotic spirit of those brave enough to put on the uniform and fight for this country. I was once labeled an enemy Alien by this country but we petitioned the government to allow us to fight and by the end of World War II the 442 Regimental Combat team had suffered the most casualties in the European campaign but was also the most decorated unit of its size in the history of the United States military. By allowing the DREAM Act to sit idle, we extinguish hope for a lot of people and deny too many the opportunity I was given.”

Also he was a serious badass veteran during WWII.

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On April 21, 1945, Inouye was grievously wounded while leading an assault on a heavily-defended ridge near San Terenzo in Tuscany, Italy called Colle Musatello. The ridge served as a strongpoint along the strip of German fortifications known as the Gothic Line, which represented the last and most dogged line of German defensive works in Italy. As he led his platoon in a flanking maneuver, three German machine guns opened fire from covered positions just 40 yards away, pinning his men to the ground. Inouye stood up to attack and was shot in the stomach; ignoring his wound, he proceeded to attack and destroy the first machine gun nest with hand grenades and fire from his Thompson submachine gun. After being informed of the severity of his wound by his platoon sergeant, he refused treatment and rallied his men for an attack on the second machine gun position, which he also successfully destroyed before collapsing from blood loss.
As his squad distracted the third machine gunner, Inouye crawled toward the final bunker, eventually drawing within 10 yards. As he raised himself up and cocked his arm to throw his last grenade into the fighting position, a German inside fired a rifle grenade that struck him on the right elbow, severing most of his arm and leaving his own primed grenade reflexively "clenched in a fist that suddenly didn't belong to me anymore".[13] Inouye's horrified soldiers moved to his aid, but he shouted for them to keep back out of fear his severed fist would involuntarily relax and drop the grenade. As the German inside the bunker reloaded his rifle, Inouye pried the live grenade from his useless right hand and transferred it to his left. As the German aimed his rifle to finish him off, Inouye tossed the grenade off-hand into the bunker and destroyed it. He stumbled to his feet and continued forward, silencing the last German resistance with a one-handed burst from his Thompson before being wounded in the leg and tumbling unconscious to the bottom of the ridge. When he awoke to see the concerned men of his platoon hovering over him, his only comment before being carried away was to gruffly order them to return to their positions, since, as he pointed out, "nobody called off the war!

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Rest in peace sir.