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Concept
Spark Matsunaga
Summary
Spark Masayuki Matsunaga (松永 正幸, October 8, 1916 April 15, 1990) was an American politician and attorney who served as United States Senator for Hawaii from 1977 until his death in 1990. Matsunaga also represented Hawaii in the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the Hawaii territorial house of representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, Matsunaga introduced legislation that led to the creation of the United States Institute of Peace and to reparations to Japanese-American World War II detainees.
Born Masayuki Matsunaga on October 8, 1916, the Territory of Hawaii island of Kauai, Spark Matsunaga was Japanese-American. His parents had emigrated to the United States from Japan. When he was eight, he was nicknamed Sparky after Spark Plug, a character in the comic strip Barney Google and Snuffy Smith. He received a bachelor's degree with honors in education from the University of Hawaiʻi in 1941.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Matsunaga — despite being a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army — was placed in a detention camp in Wisconsin. He and other incarcerated Japanese-Americans obtained permission from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to form the 100th Infantry Battalion. Matsunaga was twice wounded in battle in Italy during World War II. He served with the renowned 442nd Regimental Combat Team and was released from the Army as a Captain. Matsunaga graduated from Harvard Law School in 1951.
Matsunaga served as a prosecutor and was a member of the Hawaii territorial House of Representatives.
After Daniel Inouye was elected to the Senate, Matsunaga succeeded him as the state's sole member of the House of Representatives. After Hawaii was split into districts for the 1970 elections, Matsunaga was elected for , comprising Honolulu's inner ring, and held that seat until 1976. That year, with Hiram Fong retiring, Matsunaga defeated Hawaii's other House representative, Patsy Mink, for the Democratic Party nomination for Senator.
Official source
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