Gordon Hirabayashi passed away at the age of 93 in Edmonton, Alberta on New Year’s Day. Hirabayashi, who taught sociology at the University of Alberta for many years, is best known as one of three Japanese Americans (Minoru Yasui and Fred Korematsu) who challenged the constitutionality of military orders that led to the evacuation of Japanese Americans during World War II. Although Hirabayashi’s convictions for violating curfew and exclusion orders were upheld by the US Supreme Court, his principled stand would later be vindicated and his convictions overturned in 1986 and 1987 when long-buried evidence was found which had been withheld from Hirabayashi in his defense. Hirabayashi was the recipient of many honors for his wartime principled stand in support of the Constitution.
