Marine Helicopter Squadron HMM 165 Vets reunite half century later

“ Young kids out to explore the world, and ultimately save it if it came to that.”

Then, 41 years later and about 9,500 miles from where they last saw each other, five former US Marines reunited recently in Branson, Missouri.

Len Sherard, at age 62, was the youngest of the quintet who served together in the South Pacific in the mid-70s, and had the shortest trip – a 3-1/2 hour drive from Overland Park, Kansas. Dan Wolf rode his Harley Davidson from Kingston, Michigan – nine hours on the midwest’s hottest day of the year, while Sal Bellino flew in from Briarcliff, New York. Bud Turner, reliant on a cane after being hit by a car left him paralyzed on his left side, came from San Marcos, Texas. And Joe Costa, who visits his Tulsa, Oklahoma, VA Medical Center to care for his hearing loss.

Back in the day, they were helicopter electronics technicians attached to Marine Helicopter Squadron HMM 165 in the Philippines, on a one-year NATO joint-force peacekeeping cruise with the Australians and British.

Bellino stored his Marine photos in a plastic bin while others’ Kodachromes fell victim to moves over the years. One shot of Bellino and Turner on the Red China border prompted Sal to tell him a story about being on shore patrol in Hong Kong on New Year’s Day in 1976. Bud replied: “I remember, I was the other guy with you.”

While the Vets reminisced, locals offered respect to their visitors by wearing Marine tee shirts or hats, an emotional outpouring Bellino called, “amazing, grounding, humbling.”

“We were at a burger place, and this young waitress came over and said, “I want to thank you for your service,’” Bellino says. “Then the manager came over and talked with us – people were genuinely interested, they really cared.”

Genuinely, and as much as the reunited Marines cared about each other.

“I just had to say good-bye to friends I haven’t seen in 45 years. One of the hardest things I’ve had to do in recent memory,” Sherard Tweeted leaving Branson. “There was a little talk about our personal lives and then we were right back there, a bunch of young kids out to explore the world, and ultimately save it if it came to that. These are the guys that had each other’s back each and every minute of each and every day. A bond like that, where we were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, is amazing, and not to be taken lightly.”

Bellino said simply, “We all joined the ship and left at different times – in the blink of an eye, someone was gone, all off in different directions – so this was the first time we got to say good-bye to each other.”

It was Wolf’s idea for the reunion, using Facebook and togetherweserved.com/ to contact the former Marines. The plan is to do it again in two years, with the marching orders for each to bring along another Marine.

Shared by Daniel Quinn, Avon, Connecticut, a friend of Sal Bellino.

Left to Right: Len Sherard, Dan Wolf, Bud Turner, Joe Costa, Sal Bellino.