U.S. Rep. Mark Takai remembered at DNC

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA (HawaiiNewsNow) - Colleagues paid tribute to the late U.S. Rep. Mark Takai at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.

"Mark truly had the Aloha spirit and was deeply committed to advancing the priorities of the people of Hawaii and our veterans," U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said.

Chu spoke on behalf of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus to talk about Takai's hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer.

"I will never forget the tears in his eyes when he learned about the Cancer Moonshot initiative," she said. "It gave him and millions of Americans hope that we will finally find a cure for cancer. In his memory, we've got to keep hoping and fighting."

The Cancer Moonshot initiative, led by Vice President Joe Biden, aims to accelerate cancer research by making more therapies available to more patients and also improving the ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage.

Takai died last week at the age of 49.

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