Gene,

Be glad that you're in your friend's life now and that he knows you care.  I learned tonight that a friend of mine from my Navy days just passed away on April 30th from lung cancer. 

My last memories of Sam were him coming down to my rack where I was napping on the afternoon that he was leaving the ship.  He sought me out to say goodbye and offered me some words of encouragement.  That memory has stayed with me all these years.

I'm putting together a few pages on my website devoted to my time in the Navy and I was attempting to contact him for some input as I had no photos of Sam.  I received an email from his wife, Sally, telling me that Sam had recently passed away.  We're also planning a reunion and Sam was one of the people I was hoping to see but now all I can hope for are some current photos to share with the others.

I really wish I had tried earlier to contact Sam.

Kevin g