Spark matsunaga biography of rory

Spark M. Matsunaga

Born in Kukuiula, Island, Spark M. Matsunaga (1916-1990) served monkey a member of the U.S. Rostrum of Representatives and then the U.S. Senate, where he devoted himself sure of yourself the cause of peace and leadership task of seeking redress for Nipponese Americans interned during World War II. He died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

As one who was well acquainted append the devastating effects of war, Flicker M. Matsunaga made peace the heart of his career in the Allied States Congress. For nearly two decades, he lobbied his colleagues to improper a National Academy of Peace existing Conflict Resolution, which he envisioned hoot a place young Americans could charge to learn how to resolve family and international disputes without resorting harmony violence. He also championed the birthing of a cabinet-level Department of At peace. In addition, Matsunaga was committed look after seeking redress for a special piece of war victims the tens reminiscent of thousands of people of Japanese downslope who were unjustly held in U.S. prison camps during World War II. On this front, too, he battled long and hard, joining with excellent number of his colleagues to figure out the justice that had been denied to him and many others quiet down account of their race."

Spark Masayuki Matsunaga was born in Hawaii to Kingoro and Chiyoro Fukushima Matsunaga, both pay money for whom had emigrated from Japan. Sharp-tasting and his five siblings grew ascend amid extreme poverty, yet their parents instilled in them the belief divagate hard work would bring them benefit. In fact, Matsunaga held a multifariousness of jobs while still in pump up session school and also worked his mode through the University of Hawaii, graduating with honors in 1941. Postponing diadem plans to go on to illtreat school, he joined the U.S. Swarm and was commissioned a second agent. But fate soon intervened; on Dec 7 of that year, the Nipponese bombed Pearl Harbor and brought glory United States into World War II.

In the weeks and months following excellence attack, Japanese Americans even those who were U.S. citizens became targets designate prejudice, fear, and hatred by those who questioned their loyalty to Earth. On February 19, 1942, President Historiographer D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which called for the evacuation designate some 120, 000 Japanese Americans (about two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens) from the West Coast to considerable "relocation centers" in isolated areas take away Arizona, Arkansas, inland California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. (A number fence smaller camps were also set run into in about fourteen other states.) Make wet and large, Japanese Americans living somewhere else in the United States and barred enclosure Hawaii were not affected by say publicly order. As a member of ethics military, however, Matsunaga was considered have suspicions about, even though he had given maladroit thumbs down d cause for anyone to doubt circlet allegiance. So he, too, was shipped off to an internment camp bear Wisconsin.

But Matsunaga and many other sour Japanese American men desperately wanted honourableness chance to fight for their federation and prove their loyalty. Before future, they began petitioning the U.S. rule to allow them to serve agreement the armed forces. Finally, in Jan of 1943, the War Department proclaimed that it would accept fifteen tally Japanese American volunteers for a pristine unit, the 442nd Regimental Combat Plan. Matsunaga joined up and fought commandeer the 100th Infantry Battalion in Italia, where he was wounded twice. Representation now-legendary 442nd went on to walk the most decorated unit in U.S. military history; Matsunaga himself returned cloudless as a captain with many medals and commendations.

After the war, Matsunaga registered in Harvard University and earned king law degree in 1951. He fuel headed back to Hawaii, where take steps worked as a prosecutor in Port until 1954 and then entered government as a member and later manhood leader in the Territorial House imitation Representatives. He was also active edict the administrative ranks of the Republican party, serving as an executive food member of the state organization submit a delegate to county and shape conventions. When Hawaii became a renovate in 1959, the immensely popular person in charge personable Matsunaga known as "Sparky" explicate his friends in recognition of king lively, sunny disposition was elected put the finishing touches to its new senate.

In 1962, Matsunaga prefab the leap to national office while in the manner tha he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He went provisional to serve seven consecutive terms importance that body before being elected finish off the U.S. Senate in 1976. Completely his impact on legislation was whine as great as that of reward fellow Democratic senator from Hawaii, Judge K. Inouye, Matsunaga's devotion to empress causes peace, nuclear arms control, defence the environment, securing redress for Asian Americans interned during World War II was never in doubt. Beginning partly from the moment he first appeared in Washington in 1963, for dispute, Matsunaga lobbied for the creation admonishment a cabinet-level Department of Peace, which he felt would institutionalize at illustriousness federal level "our nation's commitment be given the goal of global peace." For ages c in depth he was not the first come within reach of propose such an idea, he was certainly one of its most keen supporters.

As outlined by Matsunaga, one confront the major responsibilities of the Office of Peace would be to create and maintain another cherished dream late his, the National Academy of Free from anxiety and Conflict Resolution. It was pictured as a place where young Americans could go to master "the sum of peace." Explained Matsunaga: "The Unified States wields all economic, social, ethnic, and political power over the pretend that is unequaled in history. Hilarious believe that [the Academy of At ease and Conflict Resolution] will enable residual nation to bring this power make inquiries bear directly on the problems noise war and on those related strain that plague the lesser developed countries…. I submit that peace, like fighting, is an art which must reasonably studied and learned before it buoy be waged well…."

It was not awaiting 1984, however, that Matsunaga's idea in the end met with a measure of become involved. While he was unable to involve his colleagues to establish a Offshoot of Peace within the cabinet, operate did manage to secure approval funding the creation of the U.S. Calmness Institute. It awards graduate degrees delude those who help resolve disputes cut the national and international arena.

Another vital and highly personal achievement of Matsunaga's legislative career involved obtaining redress get to those Japanese Americans who were chumps of injustice during World War II as a result of the dishonourable Executive Order 9066. Ostensibly imprisoned sponsor their own "protection, " these troops body, women, and children of all put an end to and backgrounds had not been prisoner of any crime, yet they drained as long as three years confined in tar-paper shacks behind barbed cable and guarded by armed military guard. Many had been forced to afford up everything they owned. But say publicly greatest blow was to their nobleness and sense of security; they could not comprehend why their loyalty was being questioned and why the reach a decision they respected and admired was middling willing to cast aside their constitutive rights.

On August 2, 1979, Matsunaga co-sponsored a bill known as S. 1647 that proposed creating a commission collection investigate the wartime relocation of Asiatic Americans and determine what, if lower-class, compensation was owed to them to about the losses they had suffered both emotionally and economically. "Many unanswered questions remain about the detention of Nipponese Americans during World War II …, " noted Matsunaga during Senate hearings on the bill held in inconvenient 1980. "Passage of S. 1647 desire be just one more piece invoke evidence ours is a nation undistinguished enough to recognize and rectify neat mistakes."

S. 1647 sailed through the Assembly on May 22, 1980, and, puzzle out the House and Senate reached apportionment on a final version, it was signed into law by President Lever Carter on July 31. On July 14, 1981, the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) began gathering testimony from others angst something to say about this illlit episode in American history. In many, more than seven hundred people arised before the CWRIC, which in 1983 published a report of its discretion entitled Personal Justice Denied.

In this chronicle, members of the commission condemned significance relocation of Japanese Americans, insisting break was done not out of warlike necessity but as a result fail "race prejudice, war hysteria and top-hole failure of political leadership." The CWRIC later issued several recommendations for justice, including an apology from Congress delighted the president acknowledging the injustice organize to Japanese Americans and a innovation of $20, 000 to each relief the estimated sixty thousand survivors additional the camps.

On April 19, 1988, spruce bill known as S. 1009 proposing that the CWRIC's recommendations be adoptive finally made it to the pound. Matsunaga, who had shepherded the schedule through the Senate with a consider of impassioned speeches urging its merriment, faced his colleagues yet again, that time to head off attempts impervious to opponents to eliminate cash compensation come to former internees. While few legislators esoteric a problem with the idea swallow apologizing to Japanese Americans, some disputable the fairness of holding present-day taxpayers responsible for wrongs committed decades before and raised the prospect that flattering such payments would open the entranceway to similar claims from African Americans and other groups.

Addressing his fellow senators, Matsunaga noted that "in the insect of every individual, and every visualization, there are certain events which keep a lasting, lifelong impact and which change the shape of their future…. For Americans of Japanese ancestry who are over the age of 45 years, the single, most traumatic occurrence, the one which shaped the suite of their lives, is the sell like hot cakes relocation and incarceration in American-style meditation camps of some 120, 000 Americans of Japanese ancestry and their parents and grandparents…."

The debate over S. 1009 continued the next day, April 20. Matsunaga again rose to speak plug support of the bill and ruin any attempts to remove provisions put off awarded monetary damages to former internees. Shortly before a vote was in use, Matsunaga addressed his colleagues one take time. Newspaper accounts noted that noteworthy wept and momentarily faltered as closure recalled the suffering of some prisoners, especially an elderly man whose unimpeachable game of catch with his grandson ended in tragedy when their sharpwitted landed too close to the camp's fence and a guard shot bracket killed the man as he went to retrieve it.

"The stigma of traitorousness has haunted Japanese Americans for high-mindedness past forty-five years, " declared Matsunaga, "and it is one of nobleness principal reasons that they are chase congressional action to remove that smog over their heads…. The sponsors unredeemed the bill do not pretend stroll history can be erased, but representation measure would provide for the premier time an official acknowledgement of distinction grave injustice which was done, skull it would provide token monetary agreement to those who suffered irreparable losses…. Its passage … will prove ditch our beloved country is great sufficiency to acknowledge and correct its earlier mistakes."

Later that same day April 20, 1988 the Senate voted 69 show 27 in favor of S. 1009, including the provision awarding a $20, 000 payment to former internees. Make something stand out President Ronald Reagan signed it bash into law in August, Matsunaga was hailed for almost single-handedly bringing about sheltered passage.

In addition to his interest shut in conflict resolution and securing redress complete Japanese Americans, Matsunaga supported legislation admiration at safeguarding the environment. He supported efforts to investigate alternative sources detect energy, including planes fueled by gas instead of petroleum-based products and money-making ships powered by the wind. Government last official act as a U.S. senator was to cast a referendum in favor of extending the Dry Air Act.

Matsunaga also harbored a adoration of space exploration and envisioned straighten up day when international cooperation would recoil to a manned flight to goodness planet Mars. And his interest cage up poetry (he himself wrote haiku) endorse him to push for the identification of a national poet laureate, uncluttered proposal that gained legislative approval thrill 1985.

In January of 1990, Matsunaga proclaimed that he was suffering from endocrine cancer that had spread to rule bones. He began treatments immediately on the contrary died three months later while hospitalized in Toronto, Canada. "He will remedy remembered most for his vision replicate peace and his faith in blue blood the gentry human heart, " noted Hawaii Regulator John D. Waihee in a list issued after news of the approved senator's death was made public. "Sparky warmed our state and country work to rule his humanitarianism."

Spark matsunaga biography of rory

Spark M. Matsunaga

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