Please Remember Me: A Migration Memoir
By Brandon Lopez
All aboard the Empress of Japan, it was late in the Summer of 1938 in the Philippines when Michael H. Sellheim and his older brother George packed winter clothes as they had realized they were no longer going to be in the tropics of Singapore that they were accustomed to in their early lives.
Birthed into a family of a British father and a Lithuanian mother, Sellheim was born May 26, 1926 in Singapore where his father had worked with the US Royal Rubber Company. In being shipped to Catholic school in Hong Kong, one of the territories under the rule of the British Empire, did Sellheim’s story begin.
This story dives deep into the roots of world history where Sellheim made his way from Far East Asia into the Golden Gates of San Francisco, California where his life as an American began. The tale of my best friend’s grandfather intertwines with the many conflicts that war brought upon these dark times in history of WWII and the Korean War in which “Papa” served in one.
In pursuit of the “American Dream” began with a price to pay for the cost of war, once a prisoner of war in China, to eventually serving in the Army to gain his American citizenship that granted the opportunity for his family to plant the seed they live in today.
The purpose of this story is to shed light onto migrations as well as the harsh realities that many people of this older generation went through for their families to be in the positions they are in today. On a more personal level, my purpose is to keep Papa’s story alive before he passes on as he would tell me at the dinner table.
A man I have no relation to but grew to love and care for due to my fondness of my best friend and the close relationship I have with his family.
Uncovering the history of Sellheim’s family and where they originated from will allow me to conduct an investigative journalism piece on a man that is rich in history. As it will also give me insight on where my friend’s family came to be about in the United States and what it means for future generations to come.
The format I will be taking will be using Medium to provide a brief summary and explanation of Sellheim’s story that will include pictures, podcasts, data charts, and memoirs through newspapers and journals.
