“I tried Google and all the other search engines to find these guys, then I keyed in the name of the ship and there they were,” Rhoades said.

“And we’ve been looking for him,” LaFalce said and pointed at Village of Oak Creek resident Rhoades. “When we finally found each other we knew we had to get together, soon.”

LaFalce lives in Latham, N.Y.; Cline lives in Highland, Calif., and Segarra lives in Surprise.

“We lived together in close quarters for four years. We were always together, the four of us. We’re like brothers,” LaFalce said and waved his arm to indicate the other three. “We have a strong bond. When I got here and saw Tony, it was like no time had passed. He looks the same.”

There were 65 men on the Endurance and the four had never met before, but quickly gravitated toward each other. Rhoades and LaFalce were boatswain’s mates. Cline was a seaman and Segarra was in supply. However, the other three said Segarra actually did many jobs. He carried ammo, stood watch, and performed a helmsman job among other duties.

“Tony was the JOT [Jack of all trades] — he did everything,” LaFalce said.

The main job of the Endurance crew was to seek out Chinese junks, go aboard and look for contraband. If found, they would take the crew prisoners and confiscate whatever was on board.

“We had a Vietnamese liaison on the boat so he could talk to the guys on the junks,” Cline said.

Since the Endurance was a minesweeper, Segarra said they often performed duty looking for submersed mines.

The four men sat in Rhoades’ living room wearing matching Navy blue polo shirts with an insignia of the ship and its name embroidered in gold thread on the left chest. They all brought their personal albums to share photographs and memories. When one mentioned an incident, the others piped in with their view.

“The photos brought us all back, including the cruise book everyone on the ship received,” Cline said. “There were some tough times, even though we remember the good stuff.”

A British Porpoise class submarine, the HMS Rorqual, accidently rammed the ship in the Philippines June 13, 1969, and left a big hole in the side of the Endurance. There was also a small fire in the engine once, Cline said.

“On leave we remember going, but not coming back,” he said, which caused a burst of laughter around the room.

Cline pulled out one photo that showed the USS New Jersey in the distance with a fireball bursting from the side.

“It was five miles away. When it fired, it shook our boat,” Cline said.

Other pictures showed the four during work and playtime. The only difference between then and now was a little age and, for some, a little less hair.

During their two tours in Vietnam, Rhoades, Cline, LaFalce and Segarra supported a 6-year-old Filipino orphan girl.

“We provided her with a Christmas and rebuilt the house she was living in,” LaFalce said.

“I wish we could find her now. We don’t know whatever happened to her.”

The men brought their wives with them, and Lyn LaFalce said she was the fifth onboard the Endurance the whole four years. John LaFalce carried her photo. They started dating in high school.

In conclusion, LaFalce said, “We cruised a lot of miles together then. Now we have a whole new life to share.” The other three nodded.