Robert Cabal's heritage is complicated. His father's name is usually given as Clement Hiram McColgan, but he apparently formerly used the name Clement Kalei Hiram before changing his name to the former. His father appears to have been of Chinese descent and his birth surname appears to have originally been "Ching". Cabal's mother was Nina Medeiros, who according to the U.S. Census was part Hawaiian in descent. Cabal was born Harold Christopher Ching on April 7 1917 in Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents divorced in 1938 with his mother alleging cruel treatment.
