Veterans reunite after 50 years
FAYETTEVILLE -- Two war buddies are sharing a weekend of memories and war stories.
Friday morning, Larry Moore and Thurman Woodfork met face to face after nearly 50 years. The last time the two vets saw each other was 1966 while both were stationed in Vietnam.
Woodfork, who lives in Washington D.C., flew into the Fayetteville airport and was met with a red carpet, and Moore's family, who were holding welcome signs. Woodfork called it the reunion of a lifetime.
"I had a lot of friends, but I don't miss them the way I missed him," said Woodfork. "I guess it was because of the situation we were in."
In 1965, the two men met and became friends while stationed in Vietnam. Moore was a Special Forces radio operator. Woodfork worked on Air Force radar equipment.
The two men spent a lot of time talking.
"We used to sit and talk on sand bags in a mortar pit where I worked," said Woodfork. "We used to sit out all night and talk all the time."
When Moore left Vietnam, the two men lost track of each other. After a few years, both men began to wonder if the other had been killed in combat, but they never stopped searching.
In April, the two men reconnected on the internet, and then on the phone. Moore then asked his friend to come spend this weekend with his family in Fayetteville, and Woodfork agreed.
After the hugs and smiles, the retired Air Force sergeant and former Green Beret joked with each other.
When Moore was asked how his friend looked, he said, "He is still very familiar. He has gotten a little wilder."
"Yeah, he (Moore) had also changed, but he is still the same good guy," said Woodfork.
The two vets plan to spend this weekend reminiscing, and swapping war stories.
