Many fine educators have also served as capable politicians. One of these is former teacher and senator Daniel Kahikina Akaka.
Daniel was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 11, 1924. He was the youngest of eight children born to a father of Chinese descent and a Native Hawaiian mother. As a youngster, Daniel attended Hawaii’s prestigious Kamehameha Schools, founded specifically to provide a quality education to Native Hawaiian children. He graduated from high school in 1942.
Daniel was an American hero. He served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers during World War II, from 1945 to 1947. When the war ended, the US veteran used his GI bill to enroll at the University of Hawaii. There he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1952 and his Master’s degree in 1966. After earning his teaching credential, Daniel was employed as a high school teacher in Honolulu from 1953 to 1960. He taught music, social studies, and math. In 1960 he was promoted to vice principal, and in 1969 he became a high school principal. In 1969, Daniel left public schools to work in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare as a chief program planner.
A multi-talented individual, the former teacher won election to the US House of Representatives in 1976, where he served a total of seven terms. In 1990, Daniel was appointed to fill a vacant seat in the US Senate which had occurred upon the death of Senator Spark Matsunaga. Later Daniel was elected to that position in his own right, and he served there until his retirement in 2013. Daniel’s career in politics spanned a total of 36 years.
While in office, Daniel served on a number of committees, including Armed Services, Homeland Security, and Energy and Natural Resources. But he is best known for his work on behalf of America’s veterans. He supported legislation to re-evaluate the wartime service records of members of the Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion. These units, comprised almost entirely of Japanese American soldiers, were engaged in some of the fiercest fighting in Europe. They exhibited some of the most exemplary combat records of the entire war. Despite this, only one Asian American soldier earned the nation’s highest decoration for military valor, the Medal of Honor. Because of Daniel’s efforts, more than 20 additional Asian American veterans of World War II were awarded the Medal of Honor in 2000.
Daniel Akaka passed away after a lengthy illness on April 6, 2018, at the age of 93. To learn more about this amazing educator and politician, click on this article at Washington Post Obituary.
