As we conclude our Fanohge series commemorating Guam’s liberation, we meet a survivor whose silence has long shielded her from the past—until now.  88-year-old Maria Concepcion Gayle has rarely spoken of what she endured as a child during the Japanese occupation of Guam. Her story, once shared only during a granddaughter’s school project, is now offered with courage.

"I was born in Piti, November 30, 1936," said Gayle. "I had eight brothers, one sister." Born to Joaquin Perez and Maria Quitugua Concepcion, she was the youngest of 10 children. She recalled the happier memories, saying, "My four brothers were off island before the war, they all joined the Navy. And whenever they take leave, they would stop by and bring me toys and shoes, my patent leather shoes."

She was just 5 when the bombs began falling on Sumay on the morning of December 8, 1941, as her family sat in church in Piti.  "They told us to go and get supplies and hide someplace. We stopped by our house in Aleguas; we have a rice field and it's already harvested," she recalled.

All the rice containers were kept in the bodega. "So what we did is we packed up the biscuitu and sardines and ran up to Mala’a on the hill and we stayed there until everything was cleared," she said.

When they went back to their house, they found it was occupied. "The Japanese military and they took all our supplies. So the only thing we could do was to move up to Mala'a and my father built a little house there," she said.

During this time three of her brothers would work for the Japanese. She also recalled the trek she and her mom would make, explaining, "My mother and I would walk from Aleguas, which is across Polaris Point, up to Tahagan, which is Nimitz Hill now. We'd stay overnight and walked to Yona."

The trek would take two days and would be one done usually every week because her dad and one of her brothers, Enrique, stayed in Yona to farm.  Eventually, they were among the many Chamorros forced into the Asinan concentration camp in Yona, the second-largest on island after Manenggon. "We only marched at night. And when we reached Asinan, we found a row of huts, each family was assigned to a section," Gayle said.

She recalled an incident where a mother and daughter who stayed in the hut across from her family. "The plane was shooting at the camp, and they were caught.  Because we ran to our bokkongo around the river, we built one, everytime we hear a plane coming we go and hide," she said.

And through it all, there was the power of prayer. "My mother forced me to recite the rosary every  night and the nobena. Every 6'olcock we recite the rosary. No matter where we are," she said.

Before guam was liberated, Gayle says the Japanese called for all the young men to carry supplies and ammunition to Yigo. "One of my brothers included because they can't turn away from roll call because I had four brothers with us and they go down the line and one of my older brothers - he was supposed to join the Navy on December 8,1941, and he got caught here," she said.

Her brother, Juan, would be one of the victims identified in the Chagui’an massacre. As part of the 81st Liberation Day observances, she returned, not to relive the pain, but to honor the memory. At the Asinan Memorial Ceremony, Gayle stood with others who survived the unimaginable and at Chagui'an where many gathered to recognize and honor the 45 men who were killed. Their sacrifice and bravery forever remembered. 

In remembering, we bear witness—not just to the history, but to the resilience of our people. "Ask questions. And learn from our experience," she said. "Dig into their story no matter what. And make sure you learn how the elderly survived."

And in telling her story, Gayle reminds us: even the quietest voices carry the weight of our survival.

With the Fanohge series, we remember. We honor. And we carry their stories forward.