Hawai'i's patriotic hero

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Staff Writer

Matt Matsunaga learned quite a bit about his father, the late U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga, in the course of getting the 272-page "Sparky: Warrior, Peacemaker, Poet, Patriot" biography written.

Inset: At Schofield Barracks, Spark Matsunaga, front center, was promoted to first lieutenant in June 1942, just before the 100th Infantry Battalion shipped out to Camp McCoy, Wis. Above: As a Hawai'i delegate in August 1968, Matsunaga addressed delegates and guests at the Democratic National Convention. Photo illustration by Martha Hernandez • The Honolulu Advertiser

"My dad rarely spoke about (being in) the service," recalled Matsunaga. "I had to ask him, 'How d'you get this scar?' He'd say, 'Got shot.' I learned more through his friends than from him."

From one of his father's buddies, he understood the bullet wounds in his arm and in his leg, those permanent reminders of the war. And about the exploding land mine that injured Spark Matsunaga's leg.

"Dad got wounded running up a hill," he said. "He tripped (a mine) and was running down. He's lucky a stretcher got him out quickly."

The story of the famed battalion of Japanese American soldiers is timely, especially now. Sixty years ago this month, 1,432 Nisei GIs from Hawai'i shipped out for training.

The 100th Infantry Battalion eventually headed to Europe, where despite their loyalty being questioned at every turn, they battled Nazi soldiers under the pidgin motto "Go for Broke" and eventually earned the title "Purple Heart Battalion" for the number of medals bestowed on those who were wounded.

Spark Matsunaga earned one of them.

The fighting didn't let up until the Germans surrendered in May 1945. By then, casualties had left the battalion a fraction of its original size.

While the 100th fought in some of the bloodiest operations in Italy and France, saw its number reduced to several hundred and went on to receive three Presidential Unit Citations (the highest honor for an individual unit), they still weren't allowed to be the first to march into Anzio, into the welcoming arms of jubilant Italians. Instead, in 1944, military officials ordered the Japanese-American 100th Infantry Battalion to stop outside Rome so that a white unit would be the first to enter the city.

But Matsunaga's son doesn't recall any regrets on his father's part.

"He was such a true-blue American, a guy going around speaking after the war to all the different people to help the plight of the Japanese Americans," he said. "I think he was more patriotic, and that patriotism masked any bitterness."

But the younger Matsunaga has some regrets himself. He regrets that his father, who died a decade ago, didn't live long enough to get to the stage where he'd sit with his old cronies and spill war stories. "It was such a significant part of him," his son said.

As part of the 60th anniversary of the 100th, about 150 surviving members will meet to remember their World War II brethren, whose numbers are dwindling. It's been estimated that American veterans of World War II are dying at a rate of 1,500 a day.

The public memorial service takes place Saturday at Fort DeRussy, beside the Brothers in Valor Memorial. Guest speaker will be Lt. Gen. E.P. Smith, U.S. Army Pacific commander.

A biography, "Sparky: Warrior, Peacemaker, Poet, Patriot" (by Richard Halloran, Watermark Publishing, $16.95 paperback), traces Spark Matsunaga from his origins in a Kaua'i plantation camp.

The book covers Matsunaga's education at the University of Hawai'i, his combat experience and his 28 years in the U.S. House and the Senate, during which time he won up to 82 percent of the popular vote.

The book will be available on July 12 at bookstores, or directly from Watermark Publishing, 1000 Bishop St., Suite 501-A; 587-7766 or online at bookshawaii.net.

Part of the proceeds will provide scholarships sponsored by the 100th's veterans association.

Matt Matsunaga made arrangements for the biography with Halloran and provided him with necessary background information. Matsunaga also helped guide the writer through Spark Matsunaga's papers.

"My father was your classic pack rat. He never threw away anything," Matt Matsunaga recalled with a laugh.

Matsunaga hopes to attend some events, but expects them to be a bittersweet experience.

"It's a little bit sad, because I wish my dad were still here," he said. "But I see his friends, and can share his memories through them. So I know a part of him is still alive in all of them."

Correction: In 1944, military officials ordered the Japanese-American 100th Infantry Battalion to stop outside Rome so that a white unit would be the first to enter the city. A biography of Spark Matsunaga, who fought with the 100th, will not be available at a memorial service for the unit this week. A previous version of this story had the wrong information.