The Allied campaign in Italy stretched for nineteen months between 1943 and 1945, and near the end of it, Hawaiian-born Daniel Inouye was serving as a junior officer with the US Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The 442nd was comprised of Japanese Americans, and just two weeks before the war ended in Europe, the 22-year-old lieutenant was leading his platoon up a German-held ridge when it came under heavy fire from a trio of machine gun nests. Wounded in the torso, Inouye crawled forward, taking out two of the machine-guns with hand grenades and his submachine gun. As he was hurling a grenade at the third enemy position, his arm was shattered by an exploding rifle grenade. His body was riddled, but Inouye continued to advance until he was finally stopped by another bullet in the leg.
Inouye miraculously survived the battle, but a grueling recovery followed that included the amputation of his arm. Initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his valor, the decoration was later upgraded to the Medal of Honor. In 1959, Inouye was elected to represent Hawaii in the House of Representatives, and later won election to the United States Senate. Inouye served on Capitol Hill for fifty-three years before passing away in 2012.
