. >> reporter: to many people, gordon hirabiashi is a hero.for 40 years, the -- fought. >> when your own government is doing it. that was a blow. like a under the belt blow. >> reporter: after the japanese attacked pearl harbor on december seven, 1941 the american government feared japanese americans were helping the attack. as a u.s. citizen he felt the order violate his constitutional rights. even his own mother beg him to go along. >> we got separated now, if the country could do this sort of thing, they could keep us apart and we would never see each other again. she would break down in tears that was my hardest emotional part. i felt if i changed and went with her i would not be the same person anymore. >> reporter: hiribashi was sentenced to 90 days in ja. he appealed and the u.s. supreme court upheld the curfew violation but avoided the question of the internment order. >> war hysteria got to him too. >> reporter: after the war, he moved to canada but always hoped to clear his name. an attorney found an fbi document in 1942 it said in p