Parade field named for Medal of Honor recipient, senator

FORT BENNING, Ga., (Sept. 17, 2014) -- Future generations of U.S. Army Soldiers will graduate on a field named for late Hawaiian senator and Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye, as the parade field near the National Infantry Museum was officially dedicated as Inouye Field during a dedication ceremony Sept. 12.

The ceremony was held in conjunction with a one-station unit training graduation ceremony that saw Soldiers from E Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade, and C Company, 2nd Battalion, 54th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade, become the first to walk across the newly christened Inouye Field.

"You will forever be linked with a great Soldier, a courageous Soldier, a heroic Soldier and a great statesman who I wish could be here today," Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, Maneuver Center of Excellence commanding general, said to the graduating Soldiers. "Don't ever forget that history. That history and tradition of that unit are the things that are going to be important to you long into your military future."

Inouye earned the Medal of Honor for his actions in combat near San Terenzo, Italy, in April 1945 during World War II while serving with E Company, 442nd Infantry Regimental Combat Team.

While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, then-2nd Lt. Inouye directed his platoon through automatic weapon and small-arms fire in an enveloping movement that resulted in the capture of an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force.

The enemy halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. With disregard for his personal safety, Inouye crawled up the slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying the emplacement.

Before the enemy could retaliate, he neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper's bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm.

He refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions. In the attack, 25 enemy soldiers were killed and eight others captured.

Inouye enabled his platoon to advance through resistance, and was instrumental in the capture of the ridge.

During the ceremony, soil from the site of the battle was sprinkled on Inouye Field by members of 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry Regiment - Inouye's former unit.

"When we opened these containers of soil, it was a very reverent moment," Lt. Col. Daniel Austin, battalion commander, said. "The soil is not sacred in the container, but as soon as we dispersed it on the ground in memory of Sen. Inouye and what he accomplished in Italy, to me it became hallowed ground."

Miller said the story of Inouye's actions should serve as an example for the Soldiers who graduated during the ceremony.

"You've been through training," Miller said. "Now picture yourselves at the front end of the pointed spear. You're getting hit hard by automatic weapons fire and then you are wounded. You're in the closest of fights where you're picking up hand grenades and you're putting them inside enemy machine gun nests that are decimating your company and your platoon. But you don't stop. You lose the use of your arm. You're bleeding. Things aren't going well, but you drive on for the love of your men, your mission and your nation. That's a pretty powerful story."

Inouye would later lose his arm as a result of injuries sustained during the battle.

After returning home, Inouye would go on to represent Hawaii as the state's first congressman from 1954 to 1959. He went on to serve in the Senate from 1963 until his death at the age of 88 in December 2012.

At the time of his death, he was the Senate pro tempore (the chamber's longest serving senator and third in line to the presidency) and chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Austin said Inouye's lifetime of service was something to be commended.

"I know there were times when he thought about hanging up his hat because he was getting older, but with the position and leadership he had established, he just continued to serve even though it was a personal sacrifice," Austin said. "It's just a legacy of decades upon decades of service.

"It is my hope that this dedication, his story and example will continue to be told to people who may not have been as affected by him as we were in Hawaii. Someone coming here who may not know anything about Sen. Inouye can learn about 2nd Lt. Inouye, his example, and the sacrifice he made fighting for a country ... because he loved the nation and believed in the ideals it stood for."