We received the following from Lou Hollander:

Thursday night I received a heart wrenching call from my friend, Ret. PO Henry Melchiona.  By the sound of his voice, I knew something was wrong.  As he began to tell me, he broke down and said it is Maureen, his wife.  She was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer that has spread to her neck.  The doctor said that they could not operate.  They could try chemo, and that could give her a little more time but was not sure of the quality of life she would have. Hank said she wanted to go for it. The doctor suggested to take her on a cruise which her children wanted to do but she is in too much pain.  Please remember her in your prayers also pray for Hank and the rest of the family that they can find some comfort. Guys/Gals, prayers do work!

Our prayers and best wishes go out to Maureen and Hank that she may recover from this illness.

Sent by Lou Hollander who received this email from Paul Troiano.  He would appreciate your prayers very much  His email address is craftyandcheep@aol.com phone #  386-961-9328.  I attended Paul and Annette's wedding 42 years ago and I remember it as if it was just last week.

Hi Lou,
My cancer is back for the third time.  They found grwths and nodes where my lung use to be. I will be awaiting a biopsy before they decide how to treat it.  Annette is not feeling well either. She is having trouble with ther stomach and digestive tract and needs a lot of testing to find out why. We both could use prayers.  Getting old is not for sissies.

Thank you,
Paul and Annette.

Our prayers and best wishes go out to Annette and Paul for recovery back to good health.

From Lou Hollander:

Tommy Gillespie will be having cataract surgery yesterday on one of his eyes the other eye will be done April 11th.  Well wishes can be sent to Tom at tomg2217@verizon.net

Our best wishes go out to Tom for a successful surgery. Hope to "see" you at the Florida reunion.

March 2, 2014              RET. SGT. JOE MASTROMARINO

From Lou Hollander:

I have been informed by Mike Mongillo that everything went well with Christine’s operation.  He said she should be discharged Saturday or Sunday.  Mike wants to thank everyone for their prayers and support.

We're very glad to hear the good news and our best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Forwarded to us by Lou Hollander as received from Paul’s wife Lauren laurengiven@yahoo.com

Well it is time for you to ink up your "Get Well Soon Paul" rubber stamp as Paul is about to do it again.  Tuesday February 4th Paul is going in for a 'revision' on his 23 yr old artificial hip.  Seems like only yesterday we were all playing volley ball at his 'hip hip hooray' party...

I am really starting to get suspicious about his frequent 'excuses' to find a reason to go back to the rehab facility.  I know it isn't the food so it has to be one of lovely young ladies and their sponge bath technique...

The duration of his stay in the hospital and if he needs to go to AHC for rehab will only be decided after the doctor goes in and battles to remove the old parts.  

Just when I thought I might not have any interesting material for my next Christmas letter...

We said it before and we'll say it again, Paul...all our prayers and best wishes go out to you (and your wife, of course) for a good, long and healthy life.

From Lou Hollander:

I have been informed by Jerry Dowling, lvnlg924@bellsouth.net  that Artie Wager will be going into Moffitt Cancer Hospital in Tampa FL on Tues 1/28/14.  Artie is requesting prayers, as he goes through this treatment.  He also requests no phone calls at this time.

Our prayers and best wishes to Artie for recovery from his illness.