The Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded posthumously to Gordon Hirabayashi has been donated by his widow to the University of Washington, reports KIRO.
“The message he always had was ‘this story is not my story, it’s an American story,’ ” said Susan Carnahan.
The medal will be added to a permanent collection of historical papers connected to Hirabayashi’s landmark case.
He was one of three Japanese Americans who defied orders and refused to go to the incarceration camps.
Twice he was sent to prison. But 40 years later, the court finally overturned his conviction.
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The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor.
You can see video of his medal and learn of another effort to honor Hirabayashi in the story below from KING 5 News.
