Updated Dec. 17, 2012, 9:40 p.m.
Correction appended
Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, a GW Law School alumnus who has sat in Congress for more than a half-century, died Monday evening from respiratory complications. He was 88 years old.
Inouye, the Senate pro tempore and appropriations committee chairman, had been hospitalized due to complications from the lung disease emphysema that had started to worsen last month.
He was admitted to GW Hospital earlier this month but was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Sunday, according to media reports.
Inouye graduated from the law school in 1952 after losing his arm in the U.S. Army during World War II. He helped shape Hawaii’s political future shortly after, becoming the state’s first congressman when it gained statehood in 1959.
His political success made him one of GW’s most notable alumni. Inouye earned the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award and spent a decade on the Board of Trustees starting in 1982.
Inouye, an Asian-American, was one of the few minorities to attend the law school in the early 1950s. He spoke at the school’s graduation ceremony four years ago, encouraging graduates to jump into public service.
“Take seriously the idea of public service,” he said in 2008. “Use your knowledge to strive toward life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
University President Steven Knapp commended the “unwavering patriotism” Inouye displayed throughout his military and congressional careers.
“He was a true American hero, with whom the university that traces its origins to the patriotism of George Washington was honored to be associated. His example of dedicated and selfless leadership will be sorely missed,” Knapp said in a statement.
In the Senate, Inouye often steered money to Pentagon projects when he became head of the powerful appropriation committee in 2009. A moderate democrat, he also championed government regulation of communications issues and voted against the 2002 Iraq war resolution.
He was one of the last sitting senators to serve in World War II combat. Inouye forged a friendship with Republican Bob Dole even before the two entered the Senate chamber. The two sat in the same hospital after both faced serious injuries during the war, and pushed each other to get into politics.
This post has been updated on Dec. 18, 2012 to reflect the following:
The Hatchet incorrectly called Bob Dole a Democrat. He is a Republican.
