(KERO) — As the 70th anniversary of the end of fighting in the Korean War passes, many Americans are looking back at the war.
Those Americans include two Marines from the war who were in the same company at the same time and never met until recently.
Pete Curcio Sr lives outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Meanwhile, Arthur Gentry is from Bakersfield. Curcio and Gentry were both members of the 5th Marine Regiment, 2nd Battalion in Easy Company in 1950.
Both men looked a bit different 73 years ago, when they landed at Camp Pendleton. Despite not really knowing each other before now, they were sometimes just a few steps away from each other. Both men were even extras in the John Wayne movie "Sands of Iwo Jima."
It was not all bright lights and movie stars for the men, however. Curcio and Gentry went ashore to Puson on the first day of the Korean War.
"I remember they had some dead soldiers on the beach," said Curcio. "We went in and we pushed the North Koreans way back."
From there, the two were part of the amphibious landing at Inchon." According to Gentry, "They had a Banzai attack there."
The two marines spent an hour on a Zoom call with each other, remembering the war and the men who led them.
The most intense fighting of the Korean War happened in the first six months. Curcio and Gentry were on the front lines when China sent 120,000 soldiers across the border.
"We were outnumbered about 10 to one," said Gentry.
Curcio and Gentry are part of the "Chosin Few" who fought for more than two weeks in freezing conditions, escaping across the Chosin Reservoir. That was when Curcio was taken out by severe frostbite.
"I was in pretty bad shape, said Curcio. "My feet were black as charcoal."
Curcio was airlifted out and was shipped back to the United States, where a new medical treatment saved his feet. Meanwhile, Gentry made it to the evacuation at the port of Hungnam.
Gentry will go to Arlington, Virginia this fall for the annual "Chosin Few" reunion. Curcio won't be able to join him, so digital meetings will have to suffice for now. The two, however, will be always faithful and gung ho to the end.
So how did this reunion happen? Curcio's son, Pete Curcio Jr, saw a story from 23ABC on Art Gentry posted in November of 2019 on the internet and reached out. Now, Gentry and Curcio say their next mission is to find more members of their unit that might still be alive.
