HONOLULU — President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama yesterday joined members of Congress at a memorial service for Sen. Daniel Inouye, a decorated war hero who died of respiratory complications last Monday at age 88.
Inouye, a Democrat who was the most senior US senator, had represented Hawaii since it gained statehood in 1959.
At a memorial service Friday at the Washington National Cathedral, the president called Inouye one of his “earliest political inspirations” and noted that he served “with dignity” till the end.
Inouye, an American of Japanese ancestry, lost his right arm fighting in Italy during World War II.