Staff writer GINOWAN, Okinawa Pref. -- After dropping out of junior high school here, Steve Oakley, 16, spent all his time at home because it was the only place he would be understood.
Steve's father, an American serviceman, had abandoned the family in the United States, prompting him and his mother to return to Okinawa. When they arrived, they found that "nonbase kids" attended Okinawa Christian School, a private facility for children of U.S. servicemen.
Unable to afford tuition, his mother put him in a Japanese school. But he soon gave up.