COEUR d'ALENE - Forty-five years seems like a long time, but for a group of Marines who served together in Vietnam, it feels like they saw each other just yesterday.

Marines from the 3rd Platoon, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment and the 3rd Marine Division met for a three-day reunion Friday at the Coeur d'Alene Casino and gathered Saturday for a barbecue at veteran Russ DeVerniero's home in Coeur d'Alene.

"These men are the survivors of a very intense battle near Khe Sahn in April of 1968 that lasted for four days and three nights, on a little-known stretch of Route 9 at Bridge 28," DeVerniero said in an email. "These men deserve to be honored and their stories need to be told."

The unbreakable bond these men share is partly because of the intense four-day battle they fought where their platoon suffered about 70 percent casualties the first day. This was near Khe Sahn during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

More than a dozen veterans flew in from cities across the country to reunite, as far away as Lynchburg, Va., and Corpus Christi, Texas. Most of them had not seen each other in person since they left Vietnam, and one spent the years thinking his lieutenant was dead.

"I always thought that he had died from his wounds," said Joe Bruce of Mukilteo, Wash. He said his company cook gave him the news about Lieutenant Lee Cobb, who was shot multiple times. Bruce, the "John Wayne" of the platoon, continued on with his life. In 2000, Bruce discovered a network to connect with other Vietnam-era Marines. Then, he came across Cobb's name on a list of survivors who were reaching out to others.

He was unsure about calling, and had his wife dial the number. Then a familiar voice was on the line.

"I said, 'I would have found you sooner, but you were dead,'" Bruce said. Cobb told him that it was another Cobb who was killed, and he had been looking for Bruce for 30 years.

"We both cried on the phone," the jovial Bruce said with a chuckle.

Cobb was hit the first day of battle. DeVerniero said he was a "very courageous leader. Even with several wounds, he was still trying to give us guidance."

Many of the members of this unit earned at least one Purple Heart medal, including Lee.

"I was the slowest lieutenant in the Marine Corps," he said, "I got shot three times before I could get out of the way." Cobb was shot in the neck, the elbow and the knee. He gestured to radio man John Wright, who was sitting at a nearby table.

"He got shot at the same time I did," he said. He said Wright was right next to him during the firefight. Wright was hit in the leg.

Wright, of Louisville, Ky., remembered exactly how long he served in the Marine Corps.

"The whole Marine Corps (stint) was three years, two months and 10 days," he said with a soft Southern accent. He spent nine months in Vietnam and earned two Purple Hearts. After being shot in the leg, Wright took a bullet to the left hand. "The last one was good enough for me to go home," he said.

Scott Hendrix of Shiloh, N.J., discussed some of the hardships he faced after returning home from the war.

"It was a bad time," he said. "People in the United States were upset with the war. It wasn't popular here, and we weren't popular when we came home." He said he didn't tell anyone he was in the service for 10 years after he got out.

Hendrix was somewhat somber as he shared details of his experiences and explained the duties of the medics.

"When we were all down shooting, these guys were moving around trying to fix the wounded, so as far as I'm concerned ... " he paused for an emotional moment, swallowed, and said, "they're heroes."

The men of the 3rd Platoon, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment and 3rd Marine Division wasted no time in catching up and sharing stories. From drinking liquor out of a soap bottle and blowing bubbles to being gored by a water buffalo, the wealth of stories these men shared was endless.

They may have silver in their hair now, but many of the men at the reunion said they still see each other as the young, brave, scared Marines they were when they fought together in Vietnam. They stood close to one another as they spoke, held onto each other in meaningful embraces, and remembered their fallen comrades in looks and head bows.

They were not just Marines. They were brothers.