In 1966, four young Marines had just finished basic training. After those eight rigorous weeks, meant to prepare them for the horrors they would face in the Vietnam War, the four men looked forward to their time off on the weekends. One of those weekends included a trip to a beach, which resulted in a now-iconic photo for the four friends.
But between the war and the machinations of life, the four Marines eventually lost touch with each other.
“We just broke up,” said Bob DeVenezia, 70, to USA Today. “Life is funny like that. I didn’t keep in touch with any of them.”
Back in 1966, however, Bob, Dennis Puleo (69), Tom Hanks (69), and Bob Falk (71) were all part of the same platoon. Stationed and trained together for two years, the four Marines became fast friends. But after their tours in Vietnam, they went their separate ways.
They wanted to leave the terrible memories of the war behind and, along the way, that included each other.
Since then, all four Marines went on to have successful careers and families of their own. But five years ago, Tom flipped through an old photo album and spotted the picture of the four of them on the beach.
Seeing himself and his friends in the picture started a chain reaction that would lead to their unexpected reunion, and the amazing recreation of the photo 50 years later.
Check out this fantastic event in the video below, and please Liked Video it on Facebook!
