NEW YORK — During her lifetime she was one of the most vocal advocates of Japanese American redress. But in the end, Michi Nishiura Weglyn succumbed quietly to a physical ailment that even the most strong willed could not beat. Weglyn, author of the critically acclaimed "Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps," died at her New York apartment due to stomach cancer Sunday morning, April 25. She was 72. She was preceded in death by her husband, Walter Weglyn. Upon news of her death, a flood of remembrances came from around the country for the woman some have referred to as the "Mother of Redress." "We’re all so shocked," said friend and fellow New Yorker Yuri Kochiyama. "I admire her very deeply."

Michi Nishiura was born in Stockton, California to Tomojiro Nishiura and Hisao Yuwasa Nishiura on November 29, 1926. Her parents farmed in nearby Brentwood before being sent to an internment camp in Gila River, Arizona. She attended Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts until personal misfortune forced her to withdraw.

In the 1940s she moved to New York to launch a career as a costume designer. It was there where the young Nishiura met Walter Weglyn, a Jewish refugee from the Netherlands, when they were both living in Columbia University’s International House. They married in 1950.

The printing of "Years of Infamy" in 1976 armed the Japanese American community with facts they needed to question the internment experience, say redress activists.

"It was Michi’s book that really gave the Nisei documented proof of why they needed to fight for redress," said Clifford Uyeda of San Francisco, a past national redress chair of the Japanese American Citizens League and close friend of Weglyn’s.

"I think all the Nisei owe Michi a great deal, much more than they actually realize," said Uyeda, who called "Year’s of Infamy" the "best book’ on the internment experience.

"I made it a point of suggesting to those who came to interview ex-internees, that they read her ‘Year’s of Infamy’ first," said San Francisco redress activist Kiku Funabiki, another friend of Weglyn’s. "It is not only documented meticulously but boldly reveals events which were not widely known to the community."

At a panel last year on legacies of Japanese American activism, Bay Area activist John Ota underscored the importance of Weglyn’s book. "‘Years of Infamy’ really laid the historical and educational basis for the Redress Movement," noted Ota, a member of the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations.

"I looked at the other books that had been written and I just felt that it was lacking emotion," said Weglyn in a 1998 interview with the Nichi Bei Times. "The authors were factually correct in every sense...but please consider us as being living, breathing human beings with hopes and aspirations."

"She referred to it as ‘her baby,’" said Sachi Seko of Salt Lake City, Utah, one of Weglyn’s closest friends.

According to Yoshinaga-Herzig, Weglyn’s skills as a researcher was a "tremendous help" to the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians — which examined the root causes and consequences of the Japanese American internment.

Although some feel that she has been taken for granted for her role in redress, groups that she championed will certainly never forget the impact she had on their issues.

Weglyn was a staunch advocate for recent redress efforts by Japanese American railroad and mine workers fired at the dawn of World War II, as well as Japanese Latin American internees.

"Year’s of Infamy" was one of the first texts to mention the plight of the latter group, consisting of 2,264 persons of Japanese descent who were virtually kidnapped from their homes in Latin America and detained in U.S. concentration camps to be used in hostage exchanges with Japan. While a token settlement has been reached, some Japanese Latin Americans have opted out and continue to push for redress on par with their Japanese American counterparts. Weglyn continued to do what she could to support their cause.

"Michi was among the first to embrace us and enlighten the public about our predicament," said Grace Shimizu, director of the Japanese Peruvian Oral History Project and leader in the Japanese Latin American redress movement. "Her support was all-sided, with wise advice, words of encouragement, financial contributions and timely action.

"Former Japanese Latin American internees and our families have lost a steadfast advocate in our struggle for acknowledgment and justice," Shimizu lamented. "She was an inspiring activist for truth and justice." While Weglyn was unable to see the final outcome of redress efforts by Japanese Latin Americans, she did witness the successful drive for redress by family members of those fired by railroad and mine companies after Pearl Harbor. Family members had contended that the firings were ordered by the U.S. government, and demanded incorporation into the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

This was a movement which Michi Weglyn practically orchestrated from her apartment on New York’s Park Avenue.

Weglyn, armed with sheer determination and her trademark passion for justice, encouraged family members of the railroad and mine worker families to write about their frustrations — both to the Office of Redress Administration and the Japanese American vernaculars. Beginning in 1996, a flood of letters to the editor were submitted by both victims and Weglyn herself. What resulted was a full-fledged movement for redress.

"Without her inspiration, a lot of us would have given up," said Fumie Shimada of Sacramento, the daughter of a fired railroad worker and a leading advocate of redress for the group. "Michi was responsible for keeping us going."

"She uncovered the pieces that led to our conclusion that the government fired railroad and mine workers," noted Kay Ochi, vice president of the National Coalition for Redress and Reparations. "Without her it (redress) would be doubtful."

According to Shimada, Weglyn provided clues as to where to research, which led to some groundbreaking documentation. Her encouragement of the victims to talk about the issue also had tremendous psychological effect. "She pushed us to write those letters," recalls Shimada. "It released a lot of frustration."

Shimada, who in February 1998 was among the first to hear the news that her group received redress, said "we lost a good friend and a true fighter for justice."

Another group that Weglyn supported was the Nisei draft resisters, who refused, on principle, to be drafted from behind barbed wire unless their families were released from concentration camps. The resisters were ostracized by so-called community leaders, namely the Japanese American Citizens League, and their story omitted from virtually all Japanese American history texts.

Although her own book did not mention Nisei draft resisters — who were finally recognized in recent years — Weglyn supported them publicly through letters to the Japanese American press.

"When things were at the darkest hour for the resisters, and no one was supporting us, I received a letter from Michi that encouraged me," said Mits Koshiyama of San Jose, a member of the Heart Mountain Fair Play Committee. "Her giving us this encouragement really inspired us to speak about our issue. She gave us the courage."

According to close friend Kimie Ito, who visited Weglyn daily since last Christmas, she told her "Kimie, I don’t have time. I have a lot of work to do."

According to Si Spiegel, executor of Weglyn’s estate, she declared that "no funeral service be held or no memorial service or service of any kind be conducted anywhere." However, Spiegel said, "If other people want to have something, that’s going to happen."

In lieu of services, Weglyn indicated that donations be made to University Educational Trust, Inc., c/o California Polytechnic University, Pomona, 3801 West Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768. Contributors should indicate funds be directed to the Michi Nishiura and Walter Weglyn Endowed Chair for Multicultural Studies.