
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 16, 1990                   TAG: 9004160242
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/3   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HONOLULU                                LENGTH: Medium

HAWAIIAN SENATOR DIES OF CANCER

U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga, who engineered passage of legislation paying $1.25 billion in compensation to Japanese-Americans interned in U.S.prison camps during World War II, has died at age 73.

The Democrat died Sunday at a hospital in Toronto after a fight against cancer.

Born on Kauai Island, the son of Matsunaga immigrants from Japan, Matsunaga was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. He was first elected to the House in 1962 and the Senate in 1976.

In 1988, he won passage of a law that pays $20,000 to each surviving Japanese-American interned during the war. Matsunaga had to overcome opposition from some veterans and from those who objected to the cost of the bill.

During debate, the senator was forced to halt his comments in mid-sentence while telling of an elderly internee killed by a guard as he went to pick up a softball.

"I myself become overly emotional when I think about it even to this day," he said after regaining his composure.

Matsunaga was a highly decorated veteran of the war. He was a member of the 100th Infantry Battalion, which became part of the "Go for Broke" 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the most decorated regiment in U.S. history.

A graduate of the University of Hawaii, Matsunaga was a member of Hawaii's territorial House from 1954 to 1959.

Matsunaga lobbied for 22 years before persuading Congress in 1984 to establish a U.S. Peace Institute. "Peacemaking is as much an art to be learned as war" was his persistent argument.

Gov. John Waihee, a Democrat, will name a successor to Matsunaga to serve until a special election in November. Matsunaga's term runs through 1994.

Rep. Daniel Akaka, a Democrat elected to the House in 1976, is considered the leading choice to succeed Matsunaga.

Matsunaga's body was to be taken to the state Capitol atrium for viewing. Services were set for Wednesday and a private burial was scheduled for Thursday.

Matsunaga had been plagued by medical ailments, including a heart attack in 1984, a stomach ulcer in 1987, a serious bout with the flu and back problems in 1988. He announced in January he had prostate cancer that had spread to the bone.

He is survived by his wife, Helene, and five children.

by CNB