DiTondo, Michelle, 1967-

Michelle DiTondo talks about her parent's experiences living in Osaka, Japan during the war. Father died after the war from tuberculosis. Her mother worked as a seamstress/tailor on the Air force base at the NCO club where she met Michelle's father. Michelle had moved from Tucson to Okinawa and then to Nellis in 1972. She would spend most of her childhood in North Las Vegas for more than 30 years. She speaks on her experience being in an air force family and moving from base to base as well as her fond memories of Las Vegas before casinos were built. She speaks on her mother's experiences during the time of war in Japan and living in Buffalo where Michelle's father is from. She discusses how air force bases are diverse and often have Asian (Korean, Chinese, Filipino) wives and Caucasian military husbands. She discusses her career changes in Human Resources from working closely with the government to working for MGM casinos. She talks about speaking Janglish and cooking Japanese foods with her mother and brother as well as participating in various cultural events with her family in Kyoto and making their own festivals during the pandemic.