[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 30, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5533-S5534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO THE LATE SENATOR SPARK MATSUNAGA

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, 13 years ago this month, our late 
colleague, the Honorable Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii, died while serving 
in office, abruptly cutting short a distinguished 28-year

[[Page S5534]]

career in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.
  His legacy should not be forgotten, particularly since in recent 
months, the war has dominated discussions in our Chamber and throughout 
the world. Sixty years ago, circumstances compelled Senator Matsunaga 
to become a warrior, and he acted with bravery and valor that resulted 
in our country awarding him the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. Even 
as a war hero, however, Senator Matsunaga knew the importance of peace 
and believed that the peaceful resolution of disputes should always be 
our primary goal.
  ``After serving as a soldier, he went into public service to find a 
way to end war,'' his son, former Hawaii State Senator Matt Matsunaga, 
once said.
  Like other prominent Americans such as Woodrow Wilson, Jennings 
Randolph, and Everett Dirksen, Senator Matsunaga envisioned a 
``Department of Peace'' that ideally would be on equal footing with the 
Department of Defense. In 1979, he was successful in having a provision 
added to an education appropriations bill that called for the 
establishment of the Commission on Proposals for the National Academy 
of Peace and Conflict Resolution.
  Senator Matsunaga chaired the newly created nonpartisan panel, which 
became known as the Matsunaga Commission. After numerous public 
hearings and meetings with scholars, government, and military 
officials, and representatives from religious and ethnic organizations, 
the Commission recommended the creation of a national peace academy. 
Subsequently, Senator Matsunaga spearheaded a bipartisan drive that led 
to the passage of a bill that was signed into law by President Reagan 
establishing the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C.
  The Institute's mission is to ``support the development, 
transmission, and use of knowledge to promote peace and curb violent 
international conflict.''
  Following Senator Matsunaga's death in 1990, the University of Hawaii 
paid tribute to him by establishing the Matsunaga Institute for Peace, 
where scholars could study and advise on ways to settle regional and 
international disputes without turning to violence.
  Senator Matsunaga's belief in peace began early. In 1930, as a 
student at the University of Hawaii, he wrote a short essay, titled 
``Let Us Teach Our Children to Want Peace'':

       Wants are the drives of all human action. If we want peace 
     we must educate people to want peace. We must replace 
     attitudes favorable to war with attitudes opposed to war. 
     Parents should protect the child from experiences with 
     materials of warfare. Teachers should let the generals fall 
     into the background and bring into the foreground leaders in 
     social reform as heroes. We must help our young men to see 
     that there are other types of bravery than that which is 
     displayed on the battlefield. If in our teaching we emphasize 
     the life and work of out great contributors instead of our 
     great destroyers, people will come to realize that moral 
     courage is bravery of the highest type, and America will be 
     called the Champion of Peace.

  Senator Matsunaga lived by those words throughout his life. I ask my 
colleagues to join me in paying tribute to the late Senator Matsunaga.

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