After 57 years, father returns to look for son’s gravesite

After 50 years, 86-year-old U.S. Navy veteran Toribio Trevias is back on Saipan. This time, his purpose is intensely personal, something very close to his heart. It’s something that he wants to fulfill before he breathes his last.

Trevias, despite the need to stay home due to his chronic heart illness, braved the long trip from California to Saipan two Sunday’s ago for a special purpose: to visit the grave of his son, Kenneth B.C. Trevias, who died a day after he was born on Jan. 23, 1956 on Saipan.

His goal was to gather his son’s bones, possibly have them cremated, and bring whatever is left to San Pedro, California, where he lives.

He wants to do it now, as he just lost his beloved wife, who passed away after a long painful battle with Alzheimer’s in March 2005.

He still cries whenever he remembers her and whenever he sees her pictures, but this does not stop him from looking at those pictures. For his trip to Saipan this year, he made sure to bring one lovely photo of her.

Saipan-born

Toribio Trevias, a native of Cavite, the Philippines, was a young father when he was assigned to Saipan sometime in 1955 under the U.S. Navy. He brought his wife Belen and two small children, Tony and Cara, to the island and spent the next 18 months here.

During this period, his wife conceived and gave birth to their third child, Kenneth, who only lived a day.

His eldest son was born in Hawaii while the girl was born in California.

“We buried our son Kenneth [I] in the cemetery here. I have a picture here,” said Trevias, motioning to a pouch containing the picture.

Despite some hearing problems, Trevias remains sharp and very engaging. The veteran, who is accompanied on this trip by his 47-year-old son, Kenneth II, brought several old pictures, including one that shows his son’s tomb. The gravesite is believed to be at the Chalan Kanoa cemetery.

The old Trevias could not remember the name of the cemetery but he said that there was only one cemetery back then.

Missing

The Trevias’ father-and-son arrived on Saipan on Sunday, April 23.

With the help of their initial contacts in the local community, they managed to locate the Chalan Kanoa cemetery in Susupe, but to their despair, they could not locate the tomb.

They tried to search for it the next day, but each day brought them the same result: their dead could not be found.

Old plan

“They [dad and mom] had been planning to come here one day but they never got around to it. Mother had passed away. Last year, we in the family started to make plans about going back to Saipan,” said Ken.

After finally getting the approval of the doctor for his father to travel, he immediately arranged their trip to Saipan.

“Doctors want him to stay close to home as much as possible but one of them said he has to live his life. If this trip to Saipan would make him feel better, why not do it? The purpose is not for pleasure. Now if he dies after making this trip, he will still have managed to have closure, to bring Kenneth’s remains back,” said Ken.

Liyang cemetery

Ken said he had contacted the Saipan Chamber of Commerce for information before flying here.

He said that the chamber had been very accommodating and, through e-mail, had informed him that there was a Liyang cemetery in Garapan in the mid-50s.

“We were told that maybe the remains were transferred to Chalan Kanoa,” he said.

When they got here, Ken said Mt. Carmel was able to verify the day of the death of his brother “but they could not tell me where the child was buried.”

He said that, through this search, they have met several kindhearted and hospitable local people, including Bishop Thomas Camacho.

“We saw the bishop. He told us where the area the child should have been buried. We have met people who are very helpful,” he said.

He said that, during the two-week stay on Saipan, they feel that they already belong to the community.

“The willingness to help is there. People are amazing. We’ve met Carmen Gaskins. She introduced us to several other people, including government officials. We’ve known people in just a short time, and they’re all offering to help us,” he said.

Ken said that local authorities, after knowing the time of Kenneth’s death, have assured them that he must have been buried in Chalan Kanoa.

“Part of us thinks that maybe not all the remains were transferred but, according to Mt. Carmel, everything was transferred to the new cemetery,” he said.

There is also a possibility that his brother’s tomb may have been damaged by typhoons. Right now, he said, there is no way to find out since one is not allowed to dig anywhere in the cemetery.

Another theory is a recycling of the gravesite. Since the lot is public and due to land scarcity, church authorities allow others to recycle gravesites, especially those that have not been visited for a long time.

“But we’re told that, if it happened, the one using the site would place the bones in a box and bury it underneath the new coffin. They have such a great respect for the dead. The problem is that, if my brother’s name had been erased, there’s no way the new ‘occupant’s family would know it belongs to us,” he said.

The Trevias appealed for the local community’s help in finding the remains of Kenneth.

“Maybe there are people out there who can tell us where to find it,” he said.

With or without the remains, the Trevias will be going back to California tomorrow morning.

“Maybe, next time, we’ll find him. We still hope that we can find his remains,” he said.

He said their trip to Saipan has not been a waste.

“It’s been meaningful. We’ve gained a family here,” he said.