Future USS Daniel K. Inouye Passes by Hilo Bay

Hawaiʻi Island residents gathered to welcome the Future USS Daniel K. Inouye to the state as she passed through Hilo Bay Tuesday morning.

The ship is en route to its new home, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, and will pass by Maui and Kauaʻi. It’s scheduled to arrive at its new homeport on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, at approximately 10 a.m.

The event in Hilo not only welcomed the ship but allowed the community and veterans in attendance to pay their respects to the late senator and war hero for whom the ship is named, Daniel K. Inouye.

Mayor Mitch Roth was in attendance along with World War II veteran and Hilo resident Wataru Kohashi, a member of the 442nd Battalion alongside Inouye.

“Sen. Inouye’s legacy in the islands is great, and the funds he was able to procure for our county will never be forgotten,” Mayor Mitch Roth stated in a post on social media. “Especially when we traverse the island via the DKI Highway, which would have not been possible without his assistance and support of the idea of connecting communities.”

Also aboard the ship was Chace Bee, a Waiākea High grad and Hilo native, whose mother, Renee, was able to join Roth and the other members of the community in celebration.

“Let this ship be a reminder to all our keiki here in Hawaiʻi to dream big and shoot for the stars, as anything is possible,” Roth stated. “If Dan could, we can.”

Daniel Inouye is scheduled to be commissioned on Dec. 8, 2021, one day after the 80th Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor Remembrance Commemoration.