Iraq Veteran, National Guardsman and Hawaii Congressman Passed Away

Congressman Mark Takai of Hawaii dies at 49
USA TODAY
Greg Toppo
July 20, 2016

Takai, a lieutenant colonel in the Hawaii National Guard and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, was first elected to the House in 2014, after serving 20 years in the Hawaii State House.

Mark Takai, right, U.S. Representative elect for Hawaii's 1st Congressional District, addresses and thanks his supporters as his children Kaila, bottom left, Matthew, top left, and his wife Sami, center look on. Takai died Wednesday at 49.

(AP Photo/Eugene Tanner)

U.S. Rep. Mark Takai, a first-term congressman from Hawaii who represented an area near Pearl Harbor for two decades in the Hawaii State House of Representatives, died Wednesday.

He was 49 and had sought treatment for pancreatic cancer last fall.

Takai's death comes less than a year and a half after he rose to his congressional seat — and nine months after he announced that he had been diagnosed with cancer.

His congressional office in Honolulu confirmed that he died at home, “surrounded by family.”

He is survived by his wife, Sami Takai, and two children, Matthew and Kaila.
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