Born in 1897 in the State of New York, our grandfather FRED MCMICHAEL. 
He was a first generation of an Irish-Scottish family that migrated to America to escape the potato famine that plagued Ireland between 1845 to 1852. In the year 1914 at the advent of WW1, as a young man he joined the US ARMY and was sent to Philippines as a member of the US Engineering Battalion. As the hostilities cease, his innate love for lush greenery and the beauty of the virgin country sides led him deeper into the southern islands of the Philippines, where he met and fell in love with the youngest daughter of a Muslim nobleman. He accepted a land grant offered by the Philippine Government to settle in a contentious island of Mindanao. He raised 6 kids, out of his union came 4 daughters and 2 sons. Our mother was the youngest of all 6 children. She was only 7 years old when her father died in an accident while visiting the family farm in upstate New York. After his passing, our grandmother raised her children from the yield of her large farm and supplemented it with our grandfather’s veterans pension. She raised her children with Christian values and always maintained her affinity for America and the values it stood for. She remained single all her life and kept our grandfathers memory alive through her children.
In 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor shattered the family peace once again. As a widow of an American Veteran, she found herself fearful and on the run to keep her family safe. The family work relentless to take party in providing hot meals for the Filipino Guerillas. Hand made clothes to keep them warm on chilly nights at the mountain regions of Mindanao. Both sons, on their thirteens, joined the guerillas to fight with the Americans against the atrocity of the invading army.
Our mother, HELEN as she was known, met her future husband while in school. She was a great athlete and remembered the whole student body gathered in school auditorium to received wrenching news about the opening of the war and the suspension of classes. After saying their goodbyes they all left for their home in tears and uncertain of their futures. She had to travel overnight on an over loaded ship heading to home, anticipating that any moment death might come unannounced. She married my father shortly thereafter. Captain Arrieta, as he was known all his life, left his mark on the islands he fought in. He was given credit for the heroic rescue of Colonel Smith, of the USA ARMY from the hands of his Japanese captures. In 1944, Captain Arrieta was called once again to assist in securing the island of Leyte for the return of General McArthur the Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific, who 2 years earlier was compelled to withraw and seek refuge in Australia, vowing to return. After the war, he went on to run the largest open pit mine in Asia and the 7th in the world. They both joined politics and raised 5 kids, all inherited their parents strong Christian values. Their love for hard work and their life tenet: Self reliant is a key to happiness and dependency to others is not an option. Their crowning achievements was to witness 2 of their children who became Medical Doctors, one with multiply Masters Degree in Health Care industry and 2 became Engineers with second degrees in Accounting and Computer Science respectively.
We are blessed to have Charlene Sung, the only non-family member, as a partner in this venture. Her expertise has brought tremendous assistance to the direction we have chosen to follow. She was born and raised in Taiwan and came to the United States as young woman. At a young age her father witnessed his homeland China, shattered by the emerging communist ideology of Mao Zedong. At the age of 14, he volunteered to fight for General Chang Kai Shek, an American ally, against the tyranny and destruction of communism that flourished at that time. He left to defend the Island of Formosa, now known as the Republic of Taiwan. He became a successful businessman raising three children. One, an American educated son runs a large conglomerate in Taiwan and both younger children are residing in the United States enjoying the fruit of their own labor from successful careers they have chosen for themselves.
The Arrieta and Sung Family welcomes your family to our life.
