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                         April 12, 2002

Senator to receive annual Thayer Award

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- The Association of Graduates here has named Daniel K. Inouye, a Medal of Honor recipient and the senior senator from Hawaii, as this year’s recipient of the 44th Thayer Award.

Inouye will be honored with a cadet review and presentation ceremony Thursday, on the Plain. Community members are invited to attend.

The Thayer Award, established in honor of Col. Sylvanus Thayer, "Father of the Military Academy," is presented each year to an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify the Military Academy’s motto, "Duty, Honor, Country." The Association of Graduates has been presenting the award since 1958.

Inouye enlisted in the Army in 1943 and was a member of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team known as the "Go for Broke" regiment.

He returned to Hawaii in 1947 as a captain, having received a Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star, Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster and 12 other medals and citations. In 2000, Inouye’s Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

Inouye next concentrated on completing his education and he returned to Hawaii in 1952. Two years later, in 1954, he was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives. That was followed by an election of the Territorial Senate in 1959 and then, when Hawaii became a state, the people elected Inouye as Hawaii’s first Congressman to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1962, Inouye became a U.S. Senator. He has been instrumental in the shaping of U.S. defense policies. He has also worked to strengthen the nation’s armed forces and to enhance the quality of life for military personnel and their families.

The senator is currently the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the Communications Subcommittee and the Indian Affairs Committee.

Inouye joins some impressive names on the list of past Thayer Award recipients including Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Douglas MacArthur, Barbara Jordan and Walter Cronkite.