Navy to christen guided missile destroyer USS Daniel Inouye

COURTESY U.S. NAVY
The U.S. Navy will christen its new guided missile destoyer the USS Daniel Inouye, seen here in this undated photo under construction, at a ceremony in Maine on Saturday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS / June 21, 2000
President Bill Clinton presents the Medal of Honor to Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii., one of 22 Asian-American soldiers who received the Medal of Honor for service in World War II on June 21, 2000 at the White House. A guided missile destroyed named after Inouye will be christened in Maine this weekend.

COURTESY U.S. NAVY
The ship patch for the USS Daniel Inouye guided missile destroyer, which will be christened in Maine on Saturday.



The U.S. Navy will christen a new guided missile destroyer the USS Daniel Inouye this weekend during a ceremony in Maine.
The Arleigh Burke-class ship is being named after the war hero and Hawaii politician who broke racial barriers in Congress.
Inouye represented the state in the U.S. Senate for a half-century until his death in 2012.
He played key roles in congressional investigations of the Watergate and Iran-Contra scandals and served as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.
He received the Medal of Honor in 2000 for bravery fighting in World War II with the mostly Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. He lost his right arm in battle.
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono will speak at Saturday’s ceremony in Bath, Maine. Inouye’s widow, Irene Hirano Inouye, will be the ship’s sponsor.
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