for traveling in California without a permit and ordered to leave the state at gunpoint. Hohri married Yuriko Katayama in 1951 and the couple settled in Chicago, where Hohri worked as a computer programmer. Hohri's activism began in civil rights marches and anti-war demonstrations during the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1977 he helped obtain a pardon for Iva Toguri D'Aquino, the falsely accused "Tokyo Rose." Calling the U.S. government's actions "consistent with the general pattern of discrimination already established" on a de facto basis before the war, Hohri became active in efforts to obtain compensation for those who had been interned and an official apology for the policy. As head of the National Council for Japanese American Redress, Hohri was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that sought $27 billion in damages for the class of individuals held in the internment camps, but the case was ultimately unsuccessful. In the wake of Hohri's efforts, the United States Congress passed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, under which an apology was offered and each surviving internee received $20,000 in compensation; Hohri used his check to buy a Japanese-made car. The American Book Awards recognized him in 1989 for his book Repairing America: An Account of the Movement for Japanese American Redress. A resident of Los Angeles, Hohri died at the age of 83 on November 12, 2010, due to complications of Alzheimer's disease at his home there in Pacific Palisades. References External links "Army Secretary Lionizes 22 World War II Heroes" at Defense.gov Finding aid for the William Hohri papers at the Japanese American National Museum. 1927 births 2010 deaths Computer programmers Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from dementia in California Japanese-American internees Japanese-American civil rights activists Writers from Los Angeles Writers from San Francisco University of Chicago alumni American writers of Japanese descent American Book Award winners Transitional justice North Hollywood High School alumni