Ladies and Shipmates, I am pleased to have been selected as your president for the next two years. I want to thank Dee Rochester and his Board for an outstanding job for the past two years. I also want to express my sincere thanks to Frank & Linda Kelly and all the other individuals who worked so hard to make the Myrtle Beach reunion so successful. Bravo Zulu. I want to extend a special thanks to Tom & Kathy Best for their loyal and dedicated service to the association for so many years. Great job, I know that the Board will be picking your brains from time to time. Thanks again Shipmates.

Now for the next two years, I have established a set of goals that we, as your governing body, are going to strive to obtain as follows (sequence does not mean priority):

1. Review and revise the Constitution and By-laws
2. Implement a web site
3. Establish terms of office for board members so they terminate at different times
4. Finalize the articles of incorporation
5. Increase membership by 10 %
6. Develop a business card with membership information on back.

The next reunion will be 24 through 29 September 2002 in Las Cruces, NM. Bill Grizzard will provide additional information on all the particulars later in this bulletin. I’m looking for someone to host the 2003 reunion at one of the following three locations: Branson, Mo., St Louis Mo., or Kansas City, Ks/Mo. I also would entertain the suggestion of some other location, in the central region, provided someone would agree to host the reunion at that location. Anyone interested please contact one of your board members or myself.

Bear in mind that this is your bulletin and if you have any news or information, which would be of interest to the membership, please contact any of the Board.

I want to wish everyone a belated Happy Holidays and a prosperous New Year. Hope to see you all in Las Cruces.

Bill & Nina Grizzard and Mike and Joyce Seitz are our hosts. This will be a unique and memorable reunion. We will have our usual “get acquainted” ice-breaker, business meeting, memorial service, and hospitality and historical artifacts rooms set up. The tentative itinerary will include a tour of the famous Trinity Site where the first atomic bomb was exploded, golf, and plenty of free time to fill with choices of your own. Sometime in the May/June time frame, when all the contracts are in order, we will send out complete information to all members. Until then, let your shipmates who are not members know of the reunion. Attached you will find a NNWA Membership Form. Use it to sign up your shipmates. Enjoy the fun of participation. Contact the hosts and offer your assistance.

*Suzanne Charlton, is the surviving spouse of one of our shipmates who was stationed at Lake Mead. Her husband, Peter D. Charlton was a “Technical Operations Officer” at Lake Mead from September 1955 to March 1957. The CO at the time was Captain Langston and the XO was Commander McInnis. She would like to talk to any shipmates who served with her husband to gain insight into the causes of his death. Suzanne Charlton can be reached at 1-858-454-3626.

*Mike Seitz and Bill Grizzard are trying to locate Jim Kortum. Jack O’silka is trying to locate Bill Shepherd. If you know of these shipmates, please contact Mike, Bill , Jack or Tom Best.

* George Lenz is trying to find any NW who was stationed with his father George Lenz Jr. onboard the USS Bennington. He never knew his father but lost his father onboard the Bennington and would like to talk to some of his father shipmates to better know his father. Contact George W. Lenz III, Janney Montgomery Scott, 26 Broadway 8th Floor New York, NY. 10004 1-800 444-1155 ext: 846 (Ask for George Lenz).

*Richard Cockrell is asking for help to locate a shipmate. His name is Steaven G. Kitson married to Encarnasion stationed on Guam about ’82 to ’85 and then went to recruiting duty in Michigan his home state. Information or anything anyone knows or remembers about him such as his hometown, whereabouts, etc., would be appreciated. Contact Richard Cockrell, 3090 Aegean Blvd NE, Bremerton, WA 98311, (360)698-0318, e-mail:cockricd@hotmail.com.

The good Lord was creating a model for Navy wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared. She said, “Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What’s wrong with the standard model?” The Lord replied, “Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both father and mother, be a perfect hostess to four or forty with an hour’s notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant or disabled and has a flu, and then she must be willing to move to a new location ten times in seventeen years. And oh, yes, she must have six pairs of hands”. The angel shook her head. “Six pairs of hands? No way”. The Lord continued, “Don’t worry, we will make other Navy wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride of her husband’s achievements, sustain the pain of separations, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired, and be large enough to say, “I understand”, when she doesn’t, and say “I love you”, regardless. “Lord”, said the angel, touching his arm gently, “go to bed and get some rest. You can finish this tomorrow”. I can’t stop now, said the Lord, “I am so close to creating something unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick, can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave goodbye to her husband from the pier, a runway or depot, and understand why it’s important that he leave”. The angel circled the model of the Navy wife, looked at it closely and sighed, “It looks fine, but it’s too soft”. “She might look soft”, the Lord replied, “but she has the strength of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure”. Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord’s creation. “There’s a leak”, she announced. “Something is wrong with the construction. I am not surprised that it has cracked. You are trying to put too much into this model”. The Lord appeared offended at the angel’s lack of confidence. “What you see is not a leak”, he said, “it’s a tear”. “A tear? What is it there for?” asked the angel. The Lord replied, “Its for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment, loneliness, pride and dedication to all the values that she and her husband held dear”. “You are a genius!” exclaimed the angel.
The Lord looked puzzled and replied, “I didn’t put it there”.
-Author Unknown

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT DD 214’s

The following web pages might be of assistance to provide some needed information:

In memory of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and a Prayer for those who are serving our country today:
Eternal Father, Strong to Save
Navy Hymn