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TITLE Sparky Matsunaga campaign button DESCRIPTION Sparky Matsunaga campaign button "RE-ELECT / 82 SPARKY / U.S. SENATE (D)" arranged on button, red/white/blue flag. CONTEXT Born in Kauai, Hawai`i, Masayuki "Spark" Matsunaga (1916-1990) was a three-term United States senator and a leading advocate for peace. Matsunaga, originally commissioned in the Army in June of 1941 and serving on active duty at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, was a member of the 100th Infantry Battalion of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and was wounded twice in combat in Italy. He received the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. "After the war he graduated from Harvard law school, returning to Hawaii to practice law and begin his political career. He was among the Territorial Legislature leaders for Hawaii's statehood that was passed in 1959. In 1962 he was elected to the House of Representatives, [making] the rights of immigrants, the welfare of veterans, and the defense of Japanese Americans and other minorities his hallmark. In 1976 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, supporting legislation to establish the United States Peace Institute, a research organization located at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.... Perhaps Matsunaga's greatest achievement in the Senate was obtaining redress for Japanese Americans who had been unjustly interned during World War II... In 1990, Senator Matsunaga died while serving in the U.S. Senate. In his honor, the University of Hawaii established the Matsunaga Institute for Peace, in which scholars explore ways to resolve differences without resorting to violence." U. S. Treasury site, www.publicdebt.treas.gov/ CREDIT Courtesy of Masayuki "Spark" Matsunaga DATE 1982 |
