Today, the nation remembers its second-longest serving senator, Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, a highly decorated World War II combat veteran who became the first Japanese American elected to Congress in 1959. Over the years he was a staunch supporter of civil rights and social welfare programs and was elected the Senate’s president pro tempore in 2010.
But for Japanese Americans and other communities, Inouye’s contributions stem far beyond his political career, says Dr. Stephanie Moore of Salisbury University’s History Department. She is available to speak on his time with the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team (a segregated Japanese American battalion) in World War II, as well as his support of the 1988 Civil Liberties Act and for a recent bill relating to interned Japanese Latin Americans.
Moore earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of California, San Diego. In 2011, she received the $20,000 Catherine Prelinger Award from the Coordinating Council for Women in History to expand her dissertation on Japanese immigrants in Peru. She has served as a historical consultant to groups seeking examination of the wartime relocation and internment of Japanese Latin Americans. In addition to teaching courses on world civilizations, Moore also coordinates Bienvenidos a Delmarva at SU.
To schedule an interview with Moore, please call the Salisbury University Public Relations Office at 410-543-6030. She is available on Tuesday, December 18, 2012, and possibly later in the week.
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