The Wan Wan San Company   For the next two decades, the Wan Wan San Company traveled throughout Southeast Asia performing in cities and towns in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.    My father had as many as 40 performers in his troupe.  The highlight of the show was always his magic performance assisted by his second wife Sue Woon.  Occasionally, he would have an added attraction such as when he recruited an American cowboy as a sharp shooter in his show.  It was a grueling nonstop schedule of performances and constant traveling throughout the year.

The Show Must Go On   Before World War II, the Wan Wan San Company performed at theatres throughout Southeast Asia.  During World War II when many of the theatres were closed, my father bought a circus tent and used it as his portable theatre.  During the latter part of the World War II when the Allied bombings were intensified, the show could no longer go on. Times were hard for any entertainer, cities were destroyed and the civilian population was under constant curfews.  He had no choice but to disband the troupe and went into hiding with the family.

Toward the End of World War II   My father took his family and went into hiding from Allied bombings and the occupied Japanese soldiers who were increasingly harsh toward the civilian population.  He not only had to hide from Allied bombings but also had to hide his identity as an American citizen.  If the Japanese soldiers ever found out he was an American citizen, he would surely be tortured or killed.  Unfortunately for him as a youngster he had foolishly tattooed on his forearm a bald eagle with an American flag.  In order to hide the tattoo, he had to wear a long sleeve shirt at all times which was very uncomfortable due to the equatorial climate of Southeast Asia that is hot and humid.  Fortunately, the Japanese soldiers never suspected him.

Living in the Jungle   For more than a year, we lived in a small patch of land carved out of the jungle in  Sandakan region of Sabah State, an area now part of Malaysia (formerly known as North Borneo).  We lived in a hut that was divided into two sections which was shared with another family. Each section was approximately 300 square feet. The hut was built on a dirt floor with a wooden raised platform of about 20 inches high.  This wooden platform was the only furniture and it was used as a bed for the whole family as well as a storage area.  Food was hard to come by.  We planted cassava and ate tapioca as our stable food.  There was no meat except for the chicken we raised and the occasional wildlife such as snakes, turtles and fish we caught.  The chicken coop was a good place for my father to hide his American passport and the American currency.  He stuffed the potentially incriminating items  in a corked bottle and buried it under the chicken coop.  During this difficult period, the whole family was undernourished and underweight.

Out of the Jungle    When the Australian 9^th Division landed in nearby Brunei and liberated the area in June 1945,  the Japanese occupation was finally over.  We came out of hiding  and reported our whereabouts to the U.S. Embassy. My parents had lost all their possessions including the tent, all the show props and  all our  personal properties.  Without the fund to organize a vaudeville show or the props to perform in a theatre, my father took the family to Singapore where he earned a living by performing in amusement parks. 

Back to America   Gradually my father was able to recover economically and prepared to return to the United States.  With the money he received from reparation for his lost during the war and his earnings at the amusement parks, he was able to send me, his oldest son to California in 1951 followed by my brother Tommy, his second son  in 1952 and finally the whole family returned in 1953 settling in San Francisco.  My father retired but performed occasionally for charities at special occasions.  My mother worked at sewing factories and bakeries.  My parents after retirements enjoyed traveling, including visits to Deadwood (see photo below) and Southeast Asia.    My father passed away on July 17, 1984 at the age of 89 and followed by my mother on June 6, 1992 at the age of 82.   As for the rest of the family, most of us have  settled in Northern California and many of us are now grandparents.  Below are photos of the family taken 60 years apart in 1946 and in 2006.

We are International.   We were hardly in America.  As the oldest of the ten children, I am the only one born in America (New York City, NY), all the others were born all over Southeast Asia.  Tommy was born in Hong Kong, George,  Helen and Rose were born in Singapore, and those who were born in Malaysia were Janice in Penang, William in Sandakan, Frankin in Sibu, and Anna in Tawau.  Lily was born on board a ship during  travel.  She has dual citizenship, American and Canadian; the ship is registered Canadian.