Sadly, the boys' father had perished on the ship, his body (No. 15) found with a loaded revolver in the pocket of his jacket. His abduction of the boys, combined with the firearm found on his person, painted a grim and vicious picture of the seemingly angry man who was sailing as Hoffman.
Appearances were not what they seemed---the story was not a vicious one as reported by the tabloids and written in history. Michel Navratil moved from his birthplace in Slovakia to Nice France, in 1902. While laboring in France as a tailor, he met, fell deeply in love with and married the beautiful, Italian born Marcelle Caretto. Although Navratil cherished his Wife, family matters soon pulled them apart. From the onset of the marriage, Marcelle's parents disapproved of the union, saying that Marcelle had, inexcusably, married below herself.
Eventually, Marcelle's parents went bankrupt. In spite of their opposition to the marriage, Navratil agreed to support them. Still, they continued their attempts to break up the marriage. Finally, they succeeded.
As a result, Michel and Marcelle underwent a physical separation. The children, of course, had to stay with their mother. It was during his Easter weekend visitation with the children that Michael Sr. left France and took off with them for a new life in America.
Before embarking on the Titanic, Navratil cleared out the marital bank accounts. He left only enough money for his Wife to buy a one-way ticket to New York on the Titanic. He hoped desperately that his beloved Wife would join them in America, far from the grips of her ruthless family. Sadly, his romantic dream would never be. An iceberg would alter his plans.
The elder Navratil's last words to his son, Michel, as he looked upon the child for the last time, were heart- wrenching. "My child," he said, "when your mother comes for you, as she surely will, tell her that I loved her dearly and still do. Tell her that I expected her to follow us, so that we might all live happily together in the peace and freedom of the New World." These words were so sacred to young Michel that he had vowed that he would take them with him to his grave.
Instead, the younger Navratil took his father's confession only so far as his father's grave, the location of which he had been unaware for almost eighty-four years.
