WHO ARE WE
Sometime we need DNA to find out
Darin K Chung 2023
Summit of Haleakala Maui, Hawaii 1993
Me and Dad 2018
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Senior in High School 1986
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Darin Cathy Eric 1973
My adopted parents Bernard and Susan Chung
Aloha to all,
My name is Darin Chung, and I was born and raised in Hawaii with my identical twin brother Eric and my older sister Cathy. I was adopted at an early age due to fertility issues with my mom Susan back in the late 60's. I was very fortunate to be raised by such a loving family and grew up having a pretty great childhood that was problem and drama free. My mother Susan Doyle married my father Bernard Chung, and raised us in a then quiet town of Kaneohe. I attended private schools throughout my childhood and went to some great schools with lots of friends around me. My mother informed us all one day at the table that we were adopted from another woman at an early age and I thought nothing of it for years.
During the summer of 2016 my co-worker was gifted and ancestry DNA kit and it sparked an interest in me. I followed suit and ordered mine, seeing it was as simple as spitting into a tube, and mailing it. I also decided to open my adoption papers simultaneously which my birth mother had left open at the time she gave us up. About three months passed and the adoptions record office here in Hawaii contacted me and I went down to read my story. Apparently my mother was young, a freshman in college and she got pregnant while attending Baylor University in September 1967 in Waco, Texas. She was an extremely attractive woman (and still is) and she dated a number of guys. The paternity results were unknown and she was mistaken: it was the wrong guy (as the father) and she carried this thought around for decades. She came back home and gave us up for adoption immediately after giving birth. My mother went on with her life and she married, had a son Shannon (my 1/2 brother passed away March 11, 2019 at age 47) and later divorced. She has been here in Hawaii essentially my entire life, and I often wonder in amazement at the way we are so close in proximity yet never knowing the truth of who we are and our relations.
I met my birth mother, Hazel Lynn McGregor in early October of 2016 and the occasion was joyous and full of stories and photos. The revealing of my father as David Breed came about through ancestry and the DNA results. I initially contacted Kermit who was listed as my closed kin and asked about the possibility of him being my father. It was soon realized that I was from his half brother David, and the rest of the story fell into place, as he also attended Baylor university and the annual had photos of the 2 of them in their respective classes; he a sophomore and she a freshman.
I have since met most of my Asian side of my family as many of them are alive and well and living in Hawaii. The haole/Caucasian side of my family resides in the southern regions of the mainland US, whom I have yet to meet in person.
I feel fortunate and I have had a very good life in terms of family both adoptive and by birth, I have attended some fine schools and universities around the world. I have lived in Hawaii, San Francisco, Southern California, France, and Japan. My travels have taken me to many places and I have been to Canada, Mexico, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Andorra, Spain, Ireland, England, Scotland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, East and West Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, Iceland, Turkey, Armenia, Egypt, Morocco, Peru, El Salvador, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Tahiti, Australia, And New Zealand. I'm not done yet!
Here's to my family in all its forms, and the strange journey that we all take called life. Special thanks to my Uncle Kermit who was very fact based and unconditional in his acceptance and did not ride on emotions as many of my other family did (both adoptive and blood wise)or may have felt skeptical at times. Life is short folks. Accept where you came from, know your history in life and ultimately it shapes who we are as people and the life and journey ahead of us. Here's to life!
Aloha, Darin-
My name is Darin Chung, and I was born and raised in Hawaii with my identical twin brother Eric and my older sister Cathy. I was adopted at an early age due to fertility issues with my mom Susan back in the late 60's. I was very fortunate to be raised by such a loving family and grew up having a pretty great childhood that was problem and drama free. My mother Susan Doyle married my father Bernard Chung, and raised us in a then quiet town of Kaneohe. I attended private schools throughout my childhood and went to some great schools with lots of friends around me. My mother informed us all one day at the table that we were adopted from another woman at an early age and I thought nothing of it for years.
During the summer of 2016 my co-worker was gifted and ancestry DNA kit and it sparked an interest in me. I followed suit and ordered mine, seeing it was as simple as spitting into a tube, and mailing it. I also decided to open my adoption papers simultaneously which my birth mother had left open at the time she gave us up. About three months passed and the adoptions record office here in Hawaii contacted me and I went down to read my story. Apparently my mother was young, a freshman in college and she got pregnant while attending Baylor University in September 1967 in Waco, Texas. She was an extremely attractive woman (and still is) and she dated a number of guys. The paternity results were unknown and she was mistaken: it was the wrong guy (as the father) and she carried this thought around for decades. She came back home and gave us up for adoption immediately after giving birth. My mother went on with her life and she married, had a son Shannon (my 1/2 brother passed away March 11, 2019 at age 47) and later divorced. She has been here in Hawaii essentially my entire life, and I often wonder in amazement at the way we are so close in proximity yet never knowing the truth of who we are and our relations.
I met my birth mother, Hazel Lynn McGregor in early October of 2016 and the occasion was joyous and full of stories and photos. The revealing of my father as David Breed came about through ancestry and the DNA results. I initially contacted Kermit who was listed as my closed kin and asked about the possibility of him being my father. It was soon realized that I was from his half brother David, and the rest of the story fell into place, as he also attended Baylor university and the annual had photos of the 2 of them in their respective classes; he a sophomore and she a freshman.
I have since met most of my Asian side of my family as many of them are alive and well and living in Hawaii. The haole/Caucasian side of my family resides in the southern regions of the mainland US, whom I have yet to meet in person.
I feel fortunate and I have had a very good life in terms of family both adoptive and by birth, I have attended some fine schools and universities around the world. I have lived in Hawaii, San Francisco, Southern California, France, and Japan. My travels have taken me to many places and I have been to Canada, Mexico, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Andorra, Spain, Ireland, England, Scotland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, East and West Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Greece, Iceland, Turkey, Armenia, Egypt, Morocco, Peru, El Salvador, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Tahiti, Australia, And New Zealand. I'm not done yet!
Here's to my family in all its forms, and the strange journey that we all take called life. Special thanks to my Uncle Kermit who was very fact based and unconditional in his acceptance and did not ride on emotions as many of my other family did (both adoptive and blood wise)or may have felt skeptical at times. Life is short folks. Accept where you came from, know your history in life and ultimately it shapes who we are as people and the life and journey ahead of us. Here's to life!
Aloha, Darin-
Darin and David around age 6
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Darin K Chung with birth mother Hazel
Hazel Lynn
David and Darin the teen years
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Manchu Picchu, Peru May of 2017
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Marrakesh, Morocco Nov 2017
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Paris, France Nov 2017
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Waikane, Oahu, Hawaii with Kerri who has been like a sister to me from age 7
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Me and my adopted sister Cathy 2016
Egypt March 2018
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Egypt March 2018
Greece March 2018
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November 23, 2019
In Memory of Bernard Kium Chin Chung
April 23, 1934 – September 27, 2019
My father Bernard Kium Chin Chung was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 23rd, 1934. He was the 2nd oldest son of Lin Tai Tom Chung and Kam Lum Chung. His older brother Albert died at a young age, thus making Bernard, the second born son, now the oldest son. He was followed by his sibling’s Cynthia/ auntie Oi, David (recently deceased), and Evelyn otherwise known as auntie Girlie. My father grew up in Moanalua gardens and he would tell me stories of the “olden days”. He spoke of his past growing up in Moanalua Gardens and how it was the edge of Honolulu back then. He said he had a good childhood, growing up with many neighborhood kids and family around him. They would go crabbing and play in the taro patches that skirted the Moanalua stream. He shared memories with me about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and that he saw the planes and smoke, when he was 7 years old.
His family moved to Kalihi later after selling the store. My dad would go fishing with Uncle Jimmy and he has told me some fishing stories, where they would go and at times, for days. They first lived on Gulick avenue later moving to Umi street a few years later. He went to Stevenson Intermediate school (English standard school); and he attended this school until going on to Roosevelt high school. During my dad’s high school years, he dated a few girls, but he never met the right one, and he spent a lot of his time hanging out with his buddies, like Rob Minford and Kirk Clark.
The Chung family apartments and Carpentry shop came to be in an official capacity and business, when they purchased and moved to the Umi street location. My father followed his father in his profession and craftsmanship. He continued this for the rest of his life; as my father was growing up, he had an increasing desire to learn more about boats and cars. He studied and graduated from Roosevelt high school in 1952 and went on to the university of Hawaii, getting his bachelor’s degree in Geography. After finishing college, he continued to work with his father in the carpentry family business. My father saved his money for making boats and ultimately saving up for his first Porsche.
My dad joined the coast guard soon after college, and he served for 2 years. He was happy to work on the ship and thus avoided any active military combat. During his time, he was able to visit many various spots in the Pacific including many islands, including Japan and going north of the arctic circle.
My father loved sports, well not any major physical sports, but more like sports cars and recreational boats. His favorite car maker was Porsche, and he began to save money in his teens and twenties to make boats and later buy cars when funds came to be. He continued to work at Chung’s carpenter shop, and he began to date and mingle with a few women, hanging out on Waikiki beach and Ke’ehi lagoon for water skiing. He was introduced to my mom Susan Doyle through Paul Hoe. They met at the Blue Room Bar in Waikiki and they began to date in the early 60’s. The two continued to date and they eventually decided to get married on February 4th,1962, at Central Union Church in Honolulu.
My father became a member of the Porsche club in the early sixties and he remained an avid fan throughout his adulthood. I remember in my youth when my dad had to “grow up” and retire the Green Porsche in lieu of the country squire station wagon; the kind with the fake wood panels on the side, because you can never have enough wood on a car’s exterior. I’m certain that my sister enjoyed the spaciousness of the station wagon, as well as it alleviated her position on top of the extremely uncomfortable hump in the middle of the green Porsche; since she was the divider between the twins. We were rambunctious and active kids.
The two flew to Kauai and he shipped his car over to the island so that they could tool around in the Porsche for their Honeymoon. My dad always beamed how his car was the first Porsche on the island. My father was also a member of the PCA or Porsche Club of America. After they returned to O’ahu, they attempted to have children. My sister was admittedly an easy child to raise and after we came along, they changed their minds and settled on 3 kids, as enough.
My mom continued her career as a nurse, and my dad continued with his business at Chung’s carpentry shop working alongside his father. They began to build on a property in Kaneohe that his father gave him after his marriage to my mom. The two of them with the help of many other family and friends built their first house. They adopted my sister Cathy first in 1965 and she was an easy baby to raise. It was my parents’ wishes to have a big family at that time. Then 2 and ½ years later in 1968 they adopted the twins Eric, and me Darin. They soon changed their minds about having more children and stopped any further pursuit of children. We all lived in the smaller house on the front of the property, but it was realized that the house was just too small. In 1970, my father, with friends and family built the second and bigger back house, that we live in today.
The next 2 decades through the seventies and eighties were filled with mostly good times and good health. My dad raised us with my mom, and they were very good parents. Our home was typically filled with laughter and joy. My parents did a great job of balancing careers, personal hobbies/endeavors, raising us kids, and they had many friends and family surrounding them. Our house was one of several Chung family dwellings where many family gatherings and parties were frequently held.
Some highlights from this time period included traveling with the family to Maui, the big island, the west coast, and Mexico. He was also able to travel with close friends like Paul Hoe to New Orleans and other destinations. He was able to spend time with Sam Maloof, a master wood worker, and I remember our family stayed with the Maloof’s several days, and the two of them worked together on various projects.
The nineties were a period of change for my dad, as my mom got cancer, and unfortunately succumbed to it in 1994. Moving forward in time, my dad was able to visit Europe once with me, and we made it to the Porsche factory in Stuttgart, Germany in 1996, fulfilling a lifelong dream. From the late 90’s up till about 2010, with the selling of the beloved Chung’s carpenter shop and apartments, my dad was able to travel across Canada and all the 50 states, except North Dakota, with his girlfriend Beth. The 2 shared many travel adventures together and they enjoyed the RV with their dog Ginger. The 2 traveled together for 7 years in the RV, coming home to Hawaii occasionally to escape the cold and get off the road. They were also both active in another Porsche club with local Hawaii members.
After my dads 80th Birthday in 2014, his life began to change with health issues and quite simply, he was getting older. As his health began to decline, he stayed closer to home with Eric and me, in Hawaii more. Eric and my dad went out and got a dog, George, and it pleased my dad immensely. Grandma Chung did not allow pets during his childhood, after all they were animals, and animals were to be eaten; not to eat your food or increase one’s expenses.
However, he was encouraged to travel by my brother and I and he visited Oregon with us, Japan and Taiwan with Eric, which he really enjoyed, and he also went on a road trip with me and Joe, across the Southwest USA. My sister would come home frequently during these past 5 years to visit, care for and check in with dad, making sure he was doing ok. His last trip off O’ahu was to Molokai in March 2019, and I was glad he got to see his high school/college friend Kirk one last time. The last six months of his life we had an additional care giver in the house, Elizabeth, and she made his life comfortable and helped my brother and I out significantly with his care.
The last 4 weeks of his life in September came quickly. He was between hospitals, home, nursing facilities and the dialysis lab. He was able to transition onwards peacefully, at Castle hospital in the early hours of September 27th, 2019.
So, what defines a man? Is it the degrees he collected? Whether or not they got married, the number of children they had, and subsequent offspring? Is it the amount they amassed in their checking account? We tend to categorize success through quantifiable material items. We tend to overlook the simple things in life, like was the person happy? Were they kind? Did they speak badly of others? There are so many ways we can describe the success of a person materialistically, but how about character and their inherent qualities? In the end we become this collection of memories and ideas in the minds of others, and for each one of us, our memories of others will vary from person to person. I think it’s great having memories of a loved one, and each of us have our own unique minute details of a person, places, and shared life experiences.
My dad was intelligent, generous, funny, gregarious, honest, happy, creative, and always willing to help friends and family with his time through many carpentry projects. He was so well liked by many family members and many friends. My dad was so popular, sometimes I admit having a dad like mine meant I had to share many of my closest pals with him as he would go out and do things with them, sometimes unbeknownst to me. He wasn’t always the most verbal father in stating “I love you”, nor demonstrative, but his love and affection was clear in many of his actions. I guess actions do speak louder than words sometimes.
In retrospect the years that my brother, sister, and I were able to share with my father were beautiful, frustrating, enlightening, transformative, adventurous, loving, informative but never dull or boring. The 3 of us were so lucky and honored to be chosen, hand picked into the loving Chung family/ohana. The three of us couldn’t have asked for a better father. We love you dad and we miss you, every day of our lives, as we move forward. We’ll never forget all that you did for us, and the full rich lives we have, as a result of your rich and fulfilling life. We thank you and love you for enhancing our lives with so much enrichment and memories.
Always dad, I’ll remember you…
In Memory of Bernard Kium Chin Chung
April 23, 1934 – September 27, 2019
My father Bernard Kium Chin Chung was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 23rd, 1934. He was the 2nd oldest son of Lin Tai Tom Chung and Kam Lum Chung. His older brother Albert died at a young age, thus making Bernard, the second born son, now the oldest son. He was followed by his sibling’s Cynthia/ auntie Oi, David (recently deceased), and Evelyn otherwise known as auntie Girlie. My father grew up in Moanalua gardens and he would tell me stories of the “olden days”. He spoke of his past growing up in Moanalua Gardens and how it was the edge of Honolulu back then. He said he had a good childhood, growing up with many neighborhood kids and family around him. They would go crabbing and play in the taro patches that skirted the Moanalua stream. He shared memories with me about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and that he saw the planes and smoke, when he was 7 years old.
His family moved to Kalihi later after selling the store. My dad would go fishing with Uncle Jimmy and he has told me some fishing stories, where they would go and at times, for days. They first lived on Gulick avenue later moving to Umi street a few years later. He went to Stevenson Intermediate school (English standard school); and he attended this school until going on to Roosevelt high school. During my dad’s high school years, he dated a few girls, but he never met the right one, and he spent a lot of his time hanging out with his buddies, like Rob Minford and Kirk Clark.
The Chung family apartments and Carpentry shop came to be in an official capacity and business, when they purchased and moved to the Umi street location. My father followed his father in his profession and craftsmanship. He continued this for the rest of his life; as my father was growing up, he had an increasing desire to learn more about boats and cars. He studied and graduated from Roosevelt high school in 1952 and went on to the university of Hawaii, getting his bachelor’s degree in Geography. After finishing college, he continued to work with his father in the carpentry family business. My father saved his money for making boats and ultimately saving up for his first Porsche.
My dad joined the coast guard soon after college, and he served for 2 years. He was happy to work on the ship and thus avoided any active military combat. During his time, he was able to visit many various spots in the Pacific including many islands, including Japan and going north of the arctic circle.
My father loved sports, well not any major physical sports, but more like sports cars and recreational boats. His favorite car maker was Porsche, and he began to save money in his teens and twenties to make boats and later buy cars when funds came to be. He continued to work at Chung’s carpenter shop, and he began to date and mingle with a few women, hanging out on Waikiki beach and Ke’ehi lagoon for water skiing. He was introduced to my mom Susan Doyle through Paul Hoe. They met at the Blue Room Bar in Waikiki and they began to date in the early 60’s. The two continued to date and they eventually decided to get married on February 4th,1962, at Central Union Church in Honolulu.
My father became a member of the Porsche club in the early sixties and he remained an avid fan throughout his adulthood. I remember in my youth when my dad had to “grow up” and retire the Green Porsche in lieu of the country squire station wagon; the kind with the fake wood panels on the side, because you can never have enough wood on a car’s exterior. I’m certain that my sister enjoyed the spaciousness of the station wagon, as well as it alleviated her position on top of the extremely uncomfortable hump in the middle of the green Porsche; since she was the divider between the twins. We were rambunctious and active kids.
The two flew to Kauai and he shipped his car over to the island so that they could tool around in the Porsche for their Honeymoon. My dad always beamed how his car was the first Porsche on the island. My father was also a member of the PCA or Porsche Club of America. After they returned to O’ahu, they attempted to have children. My sister was admittedly an easy child to raise and after we came along, they changed their minds and settled on 3 kids, as enough.
My mom continued her career as a nurse, and my dad continued with his business at Chung’s carpentry shop working alongside his father. They began to build on a property in Kaneohe that his father gave him after his marriage to my mom. The two of them with the help of many other family and friends built their first house. They adopted my sister Cathy first in 1965 and she was an easy baby to raise. It was my parents’ wishes to have a big family at that time. Then 2 and ½ years later in 1968 they adopted the twins Eric, and me Darin. They soon changed their minds about having more children and stopped any further pursuit of children. We all lived in the smaller house on the front of the property, but it was realized that the house was just too small. In 1970, my father, with friends and family built the second and bigger back house, that we live in today.
The next 2 decades through the seventies and eighties were filled with mostly good times and good health. My dad raised us with my mom, and they were very good parents. Our home was typically filled with laughter and joy. My parents did a great job of balancing careers, personal hobbies/endeavors, raising us kids, and they had many friends and family surrounding them. Our house was one of several Chung family dwellings where many family gatherings and parties were frequently held.
Some highlights from this time period included traveling with the family to Maui, the big island, the west coast, and Mexico. He was also able to travel with close friends like Paul Hoe to New Orleans and other destinations. He was able to spend time with Sam Maloof, a master wood worker, and I remember our family stayed with the Maloof’s several days, and the two of them worked together on various projects.
The nineties were a period of change for my dad, as my mom got cancer, and unfortunately succumbed to it in 1994. Moving forward in time, my dad was able to visit Europe once with me, and we made it to the Porsche factory in Stuttgart, Germany in 1996, fulfilling a lifelong dream. From the late 90’s up till about 2010, with the selling of the beloved Chung’s carpenter shop and apartments, my dad was able to travel across Canada and all the 50 states, except North Dakota, with his girlfriend Beth. The 2 shared many travel adventures together and they enjoyed the RV with their dog Ginger. The 2 traveled together for 7 years in the RV, coming home to Hawaii occasionally to escape the cold and get off the road. They were also both active in another Porsche club with local Hawaii members.
After my dads 80th Birthday in 2014, his life began to change with health issues and quite simply, he was getting older. As his health began to decline, he stayed closer to home with Eric and me, in Hawaii more. Eric and my dad went out and got a dog, George, and it pleased my dad immensely. Grandma Chung did not allow pets during his childhood, after all they were animals, and animals were to be eaten; not to eat your food or increase one’s expenses.
However, he was encouraged to travel by my brother and I and he visited Oregon with us, Japan and Taiwan with Eric, which he really enjoyed, and he also went on a road trip with me and Joe, across the Southwest USA. My sister would come home frequently during these past 5 years to visit, care for and check in with dad, making sure he was doing ok. His last trip off O’ahu was to Molokai in March 2019, and I was glad he got to see his high school/college friend Kirk one last time. The last six months of his life we had an additional care giver in the house, Elizabeth, and she made his life comfortable and helped my brother and I out significantly with his care.
The last 4 weeks of his life in September came quickly. He was between hospitals, home, nursing facilities and the dialysis lab. He was able to transition onwards peacefully, at Castle hospital in the early hours of September 27th, 2019.
So, what defines a man? Is it the degrees he collected? Whether or not they got married, the number of children they had, and subsequent offspring? Is it the amount they amassed in their checking account? We tend to categorize success through quantifiable material items. We tend to overlook the simple things in life, like was the person happy? Were they kind? Did they speak badly of others? There are so many ways we can describe the success of a person materialistically, but how about character and their inherent qualities? In the end we become this collection of memories and ideas in the minds of others, and for each one of us, our memories of others will vary from person to person. I think it’s great having memories of a loved one, and each of us have our own unique minute details of a person, places, and shared life experiences.
My dad was intelligent, generous, funny, gregarious, honest, happy, creative, and always willing to help friends and family with his time through many carpentry projects. He was so well liked by many family members and many friends. My dad was so popular, sometimes I admit having a dad like mine meant I had to share many of my closest pals with him as he would go out and do things with them, sometimes unbeknownst to me. He wasn’t always the most verbal father in stating “I love you”, nor demonstrative, but his love and affection was clear in many of his actions. I guess actions do speak louder than words sometimes.
In retrospect the years that my brother, sister, and I were able to share with my father were beautiful, frustrating, enlightening, transformative, adventurous, loving, informative but never dull or boring. The 3 of us were so lucky and honored to be chosen, hand picked into the loving Chung family/ohana. The three of us couldn’t have asked for a better father. We love you dad and we miss you, every day of our lives, as we move forward. We’ll never forget all that you did for us, and the full rich lives we have, as a result of your rich and fulfilling life. We thank you and love you for enhancing our lives with so much enrichment and memories.
Always dad, I’ll remember you…
Bernard Kium Chin Chung's final resting place.
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawai'i
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Black Bear 10 Sep 2021
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I finally met my Uncle Kermit ( my biological dad’s ½ brother ) and my first
time meeting my blood Haole side and my Aunt Sandy. Bunch with
Sandra S Allen and Kermit L Breed at the Black Bear in Humble, TX.
Humble, TX 10 Sep 2021
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