Dear Sal, Im so sorry for your loss, my friend. Unfortunately about death, you never know what rock it is hidding under, and it is always such a shock to all the loved ones when it rears its ugly head and strikes.I sure wish I could bear some of the load for ya, and if you can think of any way I could, please dont hesitate, my brother!

Chief, every time I saw that Polident commercial a flood of memories came back to me. Martha had a rather sad end to her life. I think with the few mentions of her in these forums compounded by the thousands of others she entertained, she is thought of very often.
I am sorry to hear you also lost a child. Marv Hanks and Ron Ocker have also lost a child. To you , them, and anyone else out there who has had to bear this worst of all losses, I truly hope you have somehow managed to not let this destroy your lives.

Wes

Well said Wes

I think that I now know why the Cochrane means so much to us all. In a very strange way, we are all brothers here. We were shipmates aboard ship, but now we have a place where we all feel a kinship with each other. This is really a great place to be. For those who never got a chance to meet your brothers, I ask that you come to the next reunion. I think the Cochrane did a lot more than serve as a platform for us to grow up in. I think the Cochrane is that string that binds us toghether into a brotherhood, and gives us support from this brotherhood. I want to thank all of you guys for the many supportive and helful entries you've all given each other in this forum. I think this is GREAT!!!

Richard, I too, believe that the camardarie this forum brings rivals that of which we shared when we served aboard her.

Chief, Thank you very much for your kind words and thoughts. I'm sorry for your loss and will definitely also keep you, and your son, in my thoughts and prayers.

All, thanks for your support...I truly believe my cousin/sister Carol received her B-day greeting from us.

GMG Sal

Sal , thank you for sharing such a personal thing with us . I am truly sorry for your loss of a loved one but I am proud of you for bringing it up to us on this forum .
I do not believe that a closer bond can be had than that we had aboard the cochrane .
Any one of us would have been willing to go to any lengths to save any of the other of us and I for one have tried to life with that moral obligation in all of my civie affairs .
The navy and all the brothers we lost in Viet Nam must never be removed from our memories .
Once again I am sorry but thank you for re-kindling my thoughts on how we care for one another .