Spark Matsunaga

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Spark Matsunaga

Spark Masayuki Matsunaga ( Japanese 松 永 正 幸 , Matsunaga Masayuki ; born October 8, 1916 in Kukuiula , Hawaii ; † April 15, 1990 in Toronto , Ontario , Canada ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) who served from 1977 to 1990 represented the US state of Hawaii as a US Senator . During his tenure, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians was created.

Career

Matsunaga enlisted in the United States Army in July 1941 , where he was wounded twice after the United States entered World War II . During this time he served in the 442nd Infantry Regiment and last held the rank of captain . After the war, he left the Army and went to Harvard Law School , where he graduated in 1951. In the following years he worked as a public prosecutor and private administrator. He was also a member of the Hawaiian statehood delegation to the US Congress and Territorial Parliament . Then he was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1962, where he served until 1976. The following year he was elected to the US Senate , where he served until his death.

Matsunaga last suffered from prostate cancer and was treated for it in Toronto General Hospital , but he died there. He was then cremated and his ashes transferred to Hawaii.

Honors

  • A bronze statue of him is in the Spark M. Matsunaga International Children's Garden For Peace in the Storybook Theater of Hawaii.
  • An elementary school in Germantown , Maryland was named after him.

Individual evidence

  1. Spark M. Matsunaga Dies at 73; Senator Led Fight for Reparations. In: The New York Times. April 16, 1990.
  2. ^ Peace Garden. on the Storybook Theater of Hawaii website .
  3. Montgomery County Public Schools website .

literature

  • Richard Halloran: Sparky: warrior, peacemaker, poet, patriot: a portrait of Senator Spark M. Matsunaga. Watermark Pub., 2002, ISBN 0-9720932-1-4 .

Web links

  • Spark Matsunaga in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)