Michael Bennett bought a 23andMe DNA test kit in 2018 to find out more about his family’s medical history. But what he ultimately found was more than he had anticipated: there was an entire new family waiting for him.
Michael, now 70, was born in occupied Japan following World War II. Yoshiko Nakajima, a Japanese woman, is his biological mother; Dick Webster, an American serviceman, is his biological father.
Michael was adopted by a couple in the United States in 1953 when he was three years old. About his biological family, he just had this knowledge.
“My childhood was really nice. I loved my parents, he admitted to TODAY.
Michael eventually enlisted in the Army, attained the rank of Green Beret, and established his own family in the country.
In 2019, a young guy named Damien from Cincinnati, Ohio, sent a message to Michael, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas, via the 23andMe app.
“I don’t know who you are, but we have a lot of DNA in common, someone said. My entire family is familiar to me. I have no idea who you are,” he replied.
Michael responded by relating his experience and mentioning that he had family in Japan. Then came additional inquiries.
Is Yoshiko Nakajima your mother’s name? You were born in Japan in the 1950s, right? Next, Damien inquired.
Michael experienced a major “aha” moment when he saw the name of his mother on the television.
Damien replied, “Hey, we know who your father is. Additionally, everyone in your large family wants to chat to you.
A few hours later, Michael was speaking with Robin Reid, Damien’s aunt, over the phone. For him, that call unlocked a completely new universe.
Michael, who was reared as an only child, learned that Robin was one of seven half-siblings he had in Ohio. Even a photo of him as a little boy was in her possession.
Robin said on the photographs that their father had saved, “That picture of that small boy lingered with me all these years.” “I wanted to know where my brother was,” the person said, “and that head full of black hair and those gorgeous dark eyes stuck with me all these years.”
Dick Webster, their late father, made every effort to stay in Japan with Michael and his mother, according to Robin. To be with them, he had re-enlisted in the Air Force for another three-year term. But the Air Force returned him to the United States.
Dick, a low-ranking airman, lacked the power to halt the transfer. He never saw his son again after finding out he had been adopted.
He was heartbroken, Robin remarked. He had suffered the loss of his family in Japan and was inconsolable.
He would fall in love once more and spend decades married to Alma Jean. He didn’t stop, though, from worrying about the family he had to leave behind in Japan. He even dispatched two of his kids on a search mission to find them in the 1980s.
Although the mother and boy had long since left, the brothers were still able to collect information for their father. They discovered from the villagers that Yoshiko had given Michael up for adoption as a kind of protection. Her only child, he was.
In 2017, Yoshiko passed away.
As a youngster of mixed race living with a single mother in post-World War II Japan, “she realized it was going to be hard for me,” Michael recalled. There is no doubt that she acted out of love.
Days after his pivotal phone conversation with Robin, Michael and his wife Mari traveled 14 hours to Cincinnati to finally meet his long-lost relatives.
When they arrived, Michael’s siblings were all waiting for them on the front lawn, ready to hug him.
He remembered the special day: “I don’t know if they’re all huggers, but they were that day. “And I was, but I’m not. Go figure, then!
When Robin first met Michael, she remarked, “It might sound crazy, but if you’ve ever lost a loved one, you know the feeling of wanting to be able to look into their eyes again. “I felt as though I got to see my dad once again. He’s got eyes. It was the world’s most soothing sensation.
Since that time, Michael has remained in touch with his family and shares holidays with them.
From a familial standpoint, Michael stated, “I’ll tell you the one thing it has changed for me: I get to be a big brother.” And I value that. I’m enjoying myself a lot.
The next gathering of the siblings is set for June in Fort Worth. It will undoubtedly be another reunion replete with hugs.
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