Masao

Born in San Bernardino in 1916, Japanese-American Masao Abe was a typical American child. In 1924, his family traveled to Japan. Not knowing the language, other children called him 'chitai' - retard. He hated Japan and wanted to go home. His family returned to California without him, an eight-year-old American child left in a foreign country. Masao adapted, even succeeded and became a military officer in training. After five years, his parents rejoined him in Japan. But when Masao was 19, his father sent him back to California to live with an uncle who became a father-figure. Again, Masao…