Dead Presidents

I was definitely bummed to hear that Senator Inouye passed away on Monday.  I had actually been reading quite a bit about Inouye recently, and his death came just a few days after I had mentioned him in a post after the Senate’s despicable rejection of the United Nations treaty on the rights of disabled people. 

The word “hero” is frequently over-used, but not in the case of Daniel Inouye.  The Senator was a true American hero, a legendary warrior in the most decorated American combat unit of World War II, and a man who selflessly dedicated his entire life to serving our country and the people of Hawaii.  I can’t imagine that too many years will pass before Hawaii replaces one of its two statues in the National Statuary Hall with a likeness of Daniel Inouye. 

I also found it to be fitting and beautiful that the last thing that Senator Inouye said before dying was “Aloha”.