Spark Matsunaga
Spark Matsunaga | |
---|---|
U.S. House of Representatives from Hawaii | |
In office January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1977 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Succeeded by | Cecil Heftel |
Constituency | At-large (1963–1971) 1st district (1971–1977) |
Personal details | |
Born | Masayuki Matsunaga October 8, 1916 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Resting place | National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Helene Matsunaga
(m. 1951) |
Children | 5 |
Education | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (BA) Harvard University (LLB) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1941–1945 |
Rank | Captain |
Unit | 442nd Regimental Combat Team 100th Infantry Battalion |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Spark Masayuki Matsunaga (October 8, 1916 – April 15, 1990) was an American politician and attorney who served as
Early life
Born Masayuki Matsunaga on October 8, 1916, the Territory of Hawaii island of Kauai, Spark Matsunaga was Japanese-American.[1] His parents had emigrated to the United States from Japan.[2] When he was eight, he was nicknamed Sparky after Spark Plug, a character in the comic strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith.[3] He received a bachelor's degree with honors in education from the University of Hawaiʻi in 1941.[2]
Following the
Political career
Matsunaga served as a prosecutor and was a member of the Hawaii territorial House of Representatives.[1]
After
In 1984, following many years of effort from Matsunaga, Congress passed a bill creating the U.S. Institute for Peace.[1][2]
For 22 years, Matsunaga presented legislation in Congress for the creation of the position of United States Poet Laureate. In 1985, a bill was finally passed authorizing the position of Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress.[5]
Matsunaga was instrumental in the passage of a redress bill for people of Japanese descent who were detained in the United States during World War II. The $1.25 billion bill provided $20,000 to each detainee and also apologized to the detainees.[1][2]
Matsunaga was known for his sense of humor. One famous incident involved Matsunaga and then-
Personal life and death
Matsunaga was married to the former Helene Hatsumi Tokunaga and had three daughters and two sons.[1]
Matsunaga had prostate cancer at the end of his life; by January 1990, he announced that the cancer had spread to his bones. He later went to Toronto General Hospital for treatment, and died there on April 15, 1990, at the age of 73.[2] His flag-draped casket lay in state in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Honolulu.
Legacy
In 1997, Matsunaga's widow donated his papers to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. There were approximately 1200 boxes of material including documents, photographs, videos, and memorabilia from his 28 years in Congress. Also in the papers are professional and personal materials from his pre-Congressional life; especially noteworthy are documents, letters, photographs, and memorabilia from his Army service in the 100th Infantry Battalion.[7]
A bronze statue honoring him is in the Spark M. Matsunaga International Children's Garden For Peace at the Storybook Theatre of Hawaii in his hometown of
See also
- List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)
References
- ^ a b c d e f Flint, Peter B. (April 16, 1990). "Spark M. Matsunaga Dies at 73; Senator Led Fight for Reparations". The New York Times. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Pearson, Richard (April 16, 1990). "Sen. Spark Matsunaga, Hawaii Democrat, Dies". Washington Post. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ "Sparky Matsunaga: From Kauai to Congress, He Served Hawaii and America". 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Center. 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Spark Matsunaga". Densho Encyclopedia. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ISBN 0-8444-0586-8.
- ^ Sparky: Warrior, Peacemaker, Poet, Patriot. A Portrait of Senator Spark M. Matsunaga, by Richard Halloran. Honolulu: Matsunaga Charitable Foundation, 2002, 259 pages, paper
- ^ The Sen. Spark M. Matsunaga Papers University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library
- ^ "Storybook Theatre on Kauai Exudes Historic Charm". Historic Hawaii Foundation. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
- ^ "Spark M. Matsunaga Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center | VA Pacific Islands health care". Veterans Affairs. August 18, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2021.
External links
- United States Congress. "Spark Matsunaga (id: M000250)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- "Densho interview: Spark M. Matsunaga". April 18, 1987. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
- Spark M. Matsunaga biography United States Institute of Peace.
- Spark M. Matsunaga's published biography Sparky: Warrior, Peacemaker, Poet, Patriot by Richard Halloran. ISBN 0-9720932-1-4.
- Spark Matsunaga at Find a Grave
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography on U.S. Congress House website