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Volume 13, Issue #3. Published on February 28, 2005
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AMONG THE HISTORIC TRAGEDY UNFORSEEN BOUNTIES FOUND
Japanese American Congressman Leaves a Historic Legacy
Survivor of WWII internment camps, went on to seek compensation.
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Brandon Hamilton
Asian Pacific Review
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The towering waves that killed more than 285,000 people throughout Asia also appear to have swept a bronze Buddha to Indian shores across the Indian Ocean.
On January 1st, 2005, Robert T. Matsui died at 63 in the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. He had been there since Christmas Eve suffering from pneumonia, but for several months, he had been suffering from myelodysplastic disorder.
The disorder prevents the bone marrow from producing red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. This severely compromises the body's ability to fight infection.
Matsui was the congressman for the Sacramento district. He had just been elected to his 14th term in congress. Matsui originally began his congressional career in 1978.
Matsui kept himself busy.
He was recognized as the third-ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, chairperson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the ranking Democrat on the Social Security subcommittee.
He was one of the leading opponents of President Bush's social security reforms. His colleagues from both major political parties say that he was a kind man who worked well with representatives from both parties.
Matsui was born on September 17th 1941. Shortly after his birth, his family was forced to move to the Tule Lake internment camp where he spent his first few years until the war ended in 1945. Over forty years later, Matsui helped write and push through a landmark bill that would finally give some peace to those who suffered in the internment camps.
Working with Norm Mineta and with Danny Inouye, Robert Matsui helped author and pass the Japanese American Redress Act of 1988. This landmark bill had the U.S. Government issue a formal apology to all the Japanese American citizens who had been imprisoned during World War II.
In addition to the apology, $20,000 per surviving person was issued, as compensation to those who were interned. With its passage, the sad story of the Japanese internment finally came full circle.
Matsui is survived by his wife of 38 years, Doris, his son, Brian and granddaughter.
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