WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, held a hearing today reviewing two nominations, including the nomination of former Honolulu resident Ray Jefferson to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans’ Employment and Training.

Jefferson, a disabled veteran, previously served the state of Hawaii as deputy director for the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

After the hearing, Akaka stated: “Ray Jefferson has served Hawaii, the Army, and our nation with honor I will strongly support his confirmation and I look forward to working closely with him.”

Jefferson is a West Point graduate and veteran of the U.S. Army, where he served as an officer with Infantry and Special Forces units. In 1995, while attempting to protect his fellow servicemembers from a live grenade, he lost all five fingers on his left hand. Following his injury, he spent six months recovering at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. After graduating from Harvard’s Business School and its School of Government, and serving as a White House and Fulbright Fellow, he returned to the Islands to serve as the number two leader at DBEDT.

“It’s just been a long journey from that hospital bed in Tripler back in 1995 to this room today,” Jefferson said during his testimony, referring to his confirmation hearing today.