On the recordDecember 21, 2012
Mr. President, I rise today to say goodbye to my friend, Senator Daniel K. Inouye. This week in the Senate, we lost a colleague, a mentor, and a compass, and what is more our country lost one of the greatest heroes of the ``Greatest Generation''. We are a Nation that still holds its heroes dear, and that is why it is so hard to say goodbye to Danny. I can think of no place more fitting to say one last ``Aloha'' than at the very center of this Nation's Capitol Building as Danny rested under the Dome yesterday, which is the symbol of freedom to the entire world and the very freedom he gave so much of himself to protect. And protect it he did. Danny stood up and fought the racial stereotypes that would have kept Japanese Americans from joining their friends and brothers in World War II. His service in France and Italy, including his heroic battle in Tuscany which earned him our highest military honor, helped fight the spread of evil and hate and religious persecution. In Congress, Danny kept a constant vigil in the service of the people of Hawaii, making sure our 50th State was as well represented as any of the original 13. As we have gathered to honor him over the past 2 days here in Washington and will continue to gather over this weekend in Hawaii, to thank him, and to say a final farewell, we will be a Congress united. Not conservatives or liberals, Democrats or Republicans, 99 percent or 1 percent. We stand together just as Danny saw us all: as Americans.…
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