thankful to God for his protection. Exactly a week later I had colon surgery. When I awoke in the recovery room the epidermal they had placed in me for pain was in the wrong place. I had no pain medication at which time my entire body was highly stressed and my blood pressure went extremely high. During the surgery the breathing tube placed down my throat hit a vocal chord nerve and paralyzed my vocal chord so I couldn't speak. I was in the hospital 7 days.

The past 4 months have been extremely difficult for my wife and I. I have had over 3 months of speech therapy to strengthen my good chord so it can compensate for the paralyzed chord. I am doing better now and can speak. I am currently undergoing counseling for Post Traumatic Stress (I went back to work at the penitentiary shortly after the surgery). I sent an e-mal to Marion and Kay and let them know my situation. Bless their dear hearts for all the phone calls and prayers over the phone to encourage me. It has been such a blessing to me to have this friendship through our Association. Their love and caring for us all is so sincere.

If you have been reading our newsletters over the years and have not come to our reunions, I would encourage you to come and join our Whetstone family. It is a SPECIAL FAMILY!

May God bless each one of you…..

Chaplain Marvin Watson
3149 Sequoia Drive
Lincoln, NE 68516-5002
(402) 421-8957
Marvwatson@juno.com
   

Again, thank you to all shipmates that have sent dues and donations to the Association. Without your support, it would be impossible to publish "The Rolling Stone", maintain the Website, find lost shipmates and have our reunions. Dues are $20.00 a year, are tax deductible, and are strictly voluntary. All dues are applied to the year they are received unless designated otherwise. We recognize that not all are able to support the Association, but we welcome support from whomever is able. Dues received to date for 2001 are listed below. An asterisk designates dues paid for additional year(s). If anyone has paid and your name is not listed, please accept our apology. Please contact Kay Goble at 6200 Emerald Pines Cir, Ft. Myers, FL 33912, (941) 768-1449, e-mail: president@usswhetstone.net.  Please use this list as your receipt.

Greetings Whetstone family!. Where has the summer gone?

I would like to share a few lines with you about the importance of relationships. It has been said, "Friends are a gift from God."  Sometimes friendship means standing by someone during a particularly hard time and encouraging him or her not to give up in despair. Can you recall a time when someone came alongside you for the sole purpose of lifting your spirits or making you smile? Romans 12:7-8 says in part "if it (the spiritual gift) is encouraging, let him or her encourage; if it is showing mercy, let him or her do it cheerfully."  Our first and foremost relationship begins with our relationship with God. Having our heart right with God.

Have you thought about relationships you have formed over the years with shipmates that served with you on the U.S.S. Whetstone? How about the relationships that have been formed through the U.S. S. Whetstone Association by attending our reunions? I have been blessed beyond measure by having attended all the reunions. It has become another family for me. I have come to know Marion and Kay Goble over the past 6 years and love and cherish them. I would like to share with you what has happened in my life this summer and how I have been encouraged and blessed by Marion and Kay of our Association.

The last week of April I found out I had to have a section of my colon
Removed. I was given the news on Tuesday. The next day at work at the State Penitentiary I was attached by 4 inmates that are serving life sentences. I was taken hostage at knife point, tied and gagged and held hostage for 2 1/2 hours. I did not know for that period of time if I would be killed or not. I am

Adams, Carzie
Adams, Richard
Alsleben, Keith
Auwen, Bryan L.
Barrett, Marvin
Beebe, Raymond
Belisle, Norbert*
Bell, Charles
Besse, Jerry
Bisping, Neil
Blenkhorn, Charles
Boren, Ben
Boso, Donald A.
Boswell, Robert G.
Brameyer, George
Breedlove, James
Brewer, Melvin L.
Brown, James E.*
Brown, Kenneth L.
Buchanan, Kenneth*
Butler, Eugene F.
Caldwell, William
Chidester, David L.
Cickavage, Joseph
Coakley, Bill*
Coatsworth, Robert
Coleman Dr Richard
Conover, J. W.
Cooke, J. Bleecker

Cox, Millard*
Croxton, Mike
Cunningham, Mike
Daniel, Walter F.
DeWalt, Gary B.
Dinda, Gerald
Drasher, Luther S
Dresser, Donald*
Driskell, Fred L.
Edney, Edward L.
Engelken, Ralph
Erath, Gerald*
Espointour Maurice
Feathers, Paul*
Finlayson, Leonard
Fraser, Douglas
French, Jr., Forest
Fry, Steve*
Garton, Lars R.
Gilliam, C. R.
Giusti, Julius J.
Goble, Marion
Goodrich, Jess
Gordon, Ed
Green, Kenneth*
Gregory, Carroll
Grubb, Jack L.
Hager, Robert W.*
Hall, Charles L.

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