Mayumi's Moveable Feast: May’s Birth Place

May was born in Japan to US military / US Army Sergeant Flavio Garcia and wife Kay Garcia.

One wonders if Camp Zama, in / near Yamato, Japan, was for Flavio, Sr, just like Bitburg Air Base, Germany, was for Bruce?

Birthplace: Shizuoka-ken, Japan

Certified copy of Birth Certificate -- certified in US consulate, Yokahama, Japan

May Garcia
Certified copy, birth certificate, American Consulate
Yokohama, Japan
Dated May 12, 1951
Notarized May 14, 1951
Date of Birth: xxxxxx xx xxxx, 1949 hours
Place of birth: No. 4 – 5 Section Tsurumadai
Yamato-machi, Rural town
Koza-gun. District
Kanagawaken, Japan. Prefecture
Present Residence: No. 4 – 5 Section, Tsurumadai
Yamato-machi,
Koza-gun
Kanagawaken
Birthplace: Shizuoka-ken, Japan. Prefecture

Laminated card: US Dept of Justice,
Immigration and Naturalization Service
Identification Card
No. 17757
In original yellow envelope

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May's Birthplace

The above information was taken from May's birth certificate and led to a lot of confusion with all the geographical names in Japan.

May very clearly remembers / knows that she was born in the same house in a small town where her mother was born, and that she (May) was delivered by a midwife, who herself was born in Yokohama but very likely dispersed to a rural area from a large city like Yokohama that would have been safer.

Query: No 4 - 5, Section Tsurumadai, Yamato-machi, Koza-Gun, Japan. Location for US military during WWII.

Reply:

Query: During WW II did the US Army have barracks in / near Yamatomachi, Japan?

Reply:

Query:

Our mom was born during WW II in Japan. The birth certificate shows Kanagawa Ken, Japan (the prefecture) as place of birth. But it also shows the town of birth as Yamato-machi, and the prefecture of Shizuoka-ken, Japan. Why are two prefectures listed? Shizuoka may have also been a city. Thoughts?

Reply:

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What We Know

Mayumi is adamant that she was born in the same home as her mother was born, and we know for sure this was Shizuoka-ken (Honseki-chi: ancestral home for Kay's family). Mayumi is adamant that she was born in the same home as her mother, which means that her mom and Mayumi were both born in the same home that is also the ancestral home. Honseki-chi means "ancestral home").

It is also a fact that Mayumi was delivered by a midwife.

Mayumi's dad was living in Camp Zama, south side of Yokohama. He and she were not married at the time Mayumi was born, so Mayumi's mom could not be living with Flavio in Camp Zama. May's mom could not access medical care in a US military facility because she was not married to Flavio.

When Mayumi was born, her mother was disowned by her family, and Mayumi went to live with her aunt. We need to determine how fast this happened. Mayumi's aunt lived in Yokohama.

The birth certificate almost suggests the geographical sites included the mother's ancestral home and her actual birthplace (the same) but her dad lived in Camp Zama but not married to Mayumi's mom Kaye.

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The Maps