The senate’s most senior member, Sen. Daniel Inouye, died Monday due to complications stemming from a respiratory illness, according to some reports from the Associated Press and Washington Post. He was 88. The late senator’s spokesperson, Peter Boylan, had stated earlier this Monday that Senator Inouye had been hospitalized since early December due to respiratory complications.

According to a statement released by Inouye’s office before he passed away, the senator’s last words were “Aloha,” which is the Hawaiian term for “hello.” He was the longest serving senate member up until the time of his passing and the second longest in the history of the US senate. Inouye was elected into office way back in 1962, which makes him a 50-year servant of the government.

Prior to being elected in the senate, Inouye served during the Second World War where he lost his arm to a German hand grenade. He was awarded a Medal of Honor for his services and he eventually became the very first Japanese-American citizen to have served in congress. Inouye was also thrust into the national spotlight when he was made a member of the Senate’s select committee during the infamous Watergate Scandal. The committee’s investigation would lead to the eventual resignation of then president, Richard Nixon.