I was sure I could count on you to break the silence, Roy, even if it took a day or two. You were lucky, or blessed, just to survive your childlhood. Tuberculosis was a very serious matter at that time; although I was never stricken with that, I had all the usual childhood ailments then in vogue. I had two sisters and a brother, all older than I, and what illness one didn't bring home from school, another did. Often there was a red "quarantined" notice on our front door.

What the Navy taught me was a sense of personal value, which as the youngest of four I had never suspected. Every now and then, on the midwatch in the radio shack, it struck me that I was the sole link between my ship and all its people and the rest of the world. A heavy responsibility.

I didn't know about Anderson. That brings us closer together, because I grew up in Gary.