Navy commissions destroyer named after late Sen. Daniel Inouye

The U.S. Navy named a guided missile destroyer ship after the late Daniel Inouye, a decorated World War II veteran and long-serving senator from Hawaii.

The Navy announced the USS Daniel Inouye at a ceremony held on the 80th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on Tuesday and officially commissioned the ship the following day.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro praised the newest ship in the Navy fleet during the commissioning ceremony. Del Toro said the ship was named after a man who “exemplified all that our nations’ military must be.”

“There is absolutely no more of a fitting name,” he said. “Inouye will always serve as a North Star for the military and me personally.”

Inouye successfully petitioned the government to allow Japanese Americans to serve in World War II and joined the war as a private in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an honored unit of Japanese American soldiers.

Inouye lost his right arm during the war but was awarded with the highest honors for his service, the Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of Freedom.

After he won election in 1962, Inouye became the first elected congressman from Hawaii. He served his state and country until his death in 2012.

Navy Rear Adm. Timothy Kott, the commander of the Navy in the region of Hawaii, said the USS Daniel Inouye “represents a powerful example of a legacy being passed on from one generation to the next.”

“Inouye embodied the values that saw your generation through an era of uncertainty and the cauldron of war,” he said.