One of the most influential Democratic Senators, Daniel Inouye, aged 88 years, died of what doctors are saying was respiratory complications.

Inouye has been hospitalized for a week and a half after he collapsed in his office in Washington D.C. Inouye was the second-longest serving member of the U.S. Senate and third in line for the presidency as the president pro tempore of the Senate.

A true American hero, he would prove himself in World War II.

Inouye was at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked, he was a medical volunteer. When the military dropped the restrictions for service by Japanese Americans, he joined the Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Within the first year of service he was promoted to the rank of sergeant and made platoon leader.

The Senator would be promoted again soon after for his actions during the battle to relieve the 141st Infantry Regiment, better known as the Lost Battalion, this time to second lieutenant. He had been shot above the heart in that incident, but the bullet was stopped short by two silver dollars he kept in his pocket. He would continue to keep those two silver dollars in his pocket for good luck until losing them just prior to losing his arm to a German grenade.

In the action where Lt. Inouye would lose his arm, he would first take a round to his stomach when taking out a machine gun nest. But he would continue to lead his men and took on a second machine gun nest as his men distracted the enemy. He drew in close and prepared to throw a grenade at the nest when he was struck with a rifle grenade that took his arm off at the elbow. He would pry that grenade from his dead, clenched fist as the arm lay next to him, and as Germans were about to finish him off, he launched that grenade with his left hand into the nest, taking it out. He would finish the job as he rose and stumbled towards the Germans firing his weapon one handed before being shot once again in the leg.

Inouye would stay in the service despite his injuries and leave with a Purple Heart , a Bronze Star and an Honorable Discharge in 1947. He had also been awarded a Distinguished Service Cross as well. That medal would be upgraded by President Bill Clinton to the Medal of Honor.

Inouye abandoned his earlier plans to become a surgeon after losing his arm and would take advantage of the GI Bill to study Political Science. Prior to Hawaii’s statehood, he would serve first in the Territorial House then be elected to the Territorial Senate. Senator Inouye was first elected to the House of Representatives from his state of Hawaii in 1959 when Hawaii became a state. He would win re-election once before winning a Senate seat in 1962. He would be elected eight more times to that seat.

Inouye was the first Japanese American to serve in the House of Representatives, then be the first again in the Senate. He would also attain the status of the highest ranking Asian-American in the United States Government.

Less than an hour after his passing, it was announced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to the Senate, saying, “Our friend, Daniel Inouye has died.” The Senate was shocked at the news.

President Obama released a statement from the Whitehouse addressing the passing of Senator Inouye. In that statement he said:

Tonight, our country has lost a true American hero with the passing of Senator Daniel Inouye. The second-longest serving Senator in the history of the chamber, Danny represented the people of Hawaii in Congress from the moment they joined the Union. In Washington, he worked to strengthen our military, forge bipartisan consensus, and hold those of us in government accountable to the people we were elected to serve. But it was his incredible bravery during World War II – including one heroic effort that cost him his arm but earned him the Medal of Honor – that made Danny not just a colleague and a mentor, but someone revered by all of us lucky enough to know him. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Inouye family.

Calling Senator Inouye a soldier, a hero, a statesman, a patriot, a gentleman and a true friend to all Alaskans, Senator Murkowski said, His loyalty was as solid as a rock, and his commitment to his principles and his country was something you could bank on.”

“Senator Inouye entered into public service when he enlisted at age 17 after the Pearl Harbor attack. His military work cost him his arm when he charged a machine gun bank, but he never, ever lost his fighting spirit.”

“He was the first Congressman that Hawaii ever had, being sent to Washington as soon as they became a state in 1959. He fought for his people and his culture every day since on Capitol Hill, and he was a stalwart defender of his state’s first people – as well as Alaska Natives and Native Americans. He felt the bond shared by the two ‘island states’ of Alaska and Hawaii, taking a lasting pride in his close friendship with Senator Ted Stevens, a man he called his brother. Both he and Ted were members of the Greatest Generation, who saw the value in putting people over politics and spent their lives literally building the states they represented. They don’t make them like Senator Inouye anymore.”

Alaska’s Representative Young was deeply saddened by Senator Inouye’s passing, he said in a release, “The islands of Hawaii and the state of Alaska lost a true friend. A war hero and member of the “Greatest Generation,” Senator Inouye was an institution in the Senate and was a tireless public servant for Hawaii since before its statehood. May God bless his family and staff during this difficult time.”

Alaska, Hawaii and the nation has lost a good friend and statesman.

The Senator’s last words were, “Aloha”

Aloha, Senator.