Vietnam Vets Reunited After Forty-five Years, Not Knowing Who Made it Out Alive

The infamous day in 1969 changed Mike Gude’s life forever.  He and his four-men recon unit were in the Vietnamese jungle gathering intel on the enemy.   Gude set off a landmine and and blew off part of his leg.  He describes that moment,

“I heard this big blast – the blast is not sharp. I saw a big black cloud. I thought I fell in a hole,” Gude said. Thank goodness his brothers were there. “Two of them saved my life,” Gude said.

He was never sure if his men were still alive and so he turned to an online message board to search for them.  All four men were alive and found a way to reunite, ending the decades of wonder and helping to heal the trauma of that day.

The men of the 173rd Airborne meet each other at Ontario airport. They all embrace each other and the hugs say it all.

“My life is complete, so if it ends today, I had a beautiful life,” says Gude. Beautiful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=115&v=0AxIbvS3fNw

Source: Little Things