How the American Legion reconnected a Vietnam veteran with his childhood friend

Standing outside of a Sacramento apartment complex, U.S. Air Force veterans Mark Rice and Don Lemmon are trying to track down a Vietnam veteran after his best friend said he went radio silent. 

Newbury Park resident Richard Smith contacted CBS News Los Angeles after he couldn't reach his childhood friend, Larry Samelson, who lived 300 miles away. 

"We've been friends for 63 years," Smith said. "I haven't been able to contact him."    

Their roots run deep. 

"We were in the same class in junior high school," Smith said. 

The two also attended high school together. When the Vietnam War heated up, they both enlisted together. While the Army sent Samelson to Vietnam, they rejected Smith because of his allergies and flat feet. 

"I was happy that they didn't take me," Smith said. 

Samelson returned right before the fall of Saigon.

"When he got out, he was different," Smith said. 

The trauma of combat impacted Samelson. 

"He couldn't swallow," Smith said. "He was afraid. He was choking all the time."

On top of the horrors of war, Samelson suffered a family tragedy. 

"His father and brother were killed instantly by a drunk driver," Smith said. "His mother survived. The last thing that she said when she was in the hospital was for me to take care of him."

When his friend went silent, Smith remembered that decades-old promise and tried to get help. After he reached out to CBS News Los Angeles, we contacted American Legion Post 383 in Sacramento. Division commander Rice answered the call. He served in the Air Force for 25 years. 

Rice offered to meet with Smith via Zoom. He listened as Smith poured his heart out about Samelson's lingering battle scars and told him about the American Legion's Buddy Check program. 

"I hear you and I can feel you," Rice said. "Veterans didn't get a warm welcome when they returned from Vietnam ... We're going to knock on his door and see if he's OK."

Within a week, Rice and fellow legionnaire Lemmon kept their promise. After exchanging niceties, Rice and Lemmon told Samelson that his friend had been looking for him. 

"Richard Smith? He's my best friend," Samelson said. "I don't know why Rick would not have just called me."

Before long, that reconnection Smith had been waiting for became a reality. It turned out that Samelson had gotten a new phone but couldn't turn on the ringer. However, Smith also recently noticed a memory issue. 

"You would have ordinarily remembered, but you didn't remember," Smith said. 

The Buddy Check program not only reunites old friends but also connects veterans to Veterans Affairs services they've earned.