In 2018, Michael Bennett purchased a 23andMe DNA test kit to learn more about his family’s health history. He found out that he had a whole new family waiting to him.
Michael, 70, was born in 1951, in post-World War II Japan. His biological mother, a Japanese woman called Yoshiko Nagajima, is his biological father, Dick Webster, an American soldier.
Michael was three years old when he was adopted by a couple in America. That’s all he knew about his real family.
“I had a very happy childhood. I adored my parents,” he told TODAY.
Michael would eventually join Army, become a Green Beret and start his own family in U.S.
A young man named Damien from Cincinnati sent Michael a message via the 23andMe app in 2019.
“It was someone who said ‘hey, we have a lot of DNA in common and I don’t know who you are. I know all my family. I don’t know who you are.’” he told KENS 5.
Michael shared his story and how he was able to connect with relatives in Japan. Then, more questions followed.
“Is your mother’s name Yoshiko Nakajima? Were you born in Japan in the 1950s?” Damien asked next.
Seeing his mother’s name on the screen was a huge ‘aha’ moment for Michael.
“Hey, we know who your father is,” Damien responded. “And you have a huge family and they all want to talk to you.”
Several hours later, Michael was on the phone with Damien’s aunt, Robin Reid. He was able to see a whole new world through that call.
Michael was raised as an alone child and discovered that he had seven Ohio half-siblings, including Robin. She even had a photo of him as a small boy.
“That picture of that little boy stayed with me all these years,” Robin said of the photos that their dad kept. “That head full of black hair and those beautiful dark eyes stayed with me all these years and I wanted to know where my brother was.”
Robin explained that their father, Dick Webster (deceased), did everything he could to keep Michael and his mother in Japan. To be with them, he had reenlisted for a three-year stint in Air Force. He was sent back to the U.S. by the Air Force.
Dick was a low-ranking Airman without the ability to stop the transfer. He never saw his son again after he learned that he had been adopted.
“He was broken-hearted,” Robin said. “He was a broken-hearted man over losing his family in Japan.”
Alma Jean, who he had been married to for over a decade, would be his second love. He didn’t forget about the Japanese family that he had left behind. He even sent two of his sons to search for them in the 1980s.
Although the mother-and-son had long since passed, the brothers were able to find information about their father. They learned from the locals that Yoshiko had adopted Michael to protect him. He was her only child.
Yoshiko died in 2017.
“She knew it was going to be hard for me as a mixed-race child in post-World War II Japan with a single mom,” Michael said. “There’s no question she did what she did out of love.”
Michael and Mari made the 14-hour trip to Cincinnati to see his long-lost family days after Robin’s life-changing call.
Michael’s siblings were all standing on the front lawn when they arrived, ready to greet him with hugs.
“I don’t know if they’re all huggers but they were that day,” he recalled of the precious moment. “And I am not, but I was. So go figure!”
“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,” said Robin of meeting Michael. “I felt like I got to see my dad again. He has his eyes. It was the most comforting feeling in the world.”
Michael spends time with his family, and he enjoys celebrating holidays with them.
“I’ll tell you the one thing it has changed for me, from that family perspective, oddly enough is, I get to be a big brother,” Michael said. “And I cherish that. I’m having a great time.”
The siblings plan on meeting next in Fort Worth in June. It will be another hug-filled gathering.
For more information, click on the video below.
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