SEATTLE -- Forty-two years ago, two young soldiers served side-by-side in the jungles of Vietnam. When they parted, they split a dollar bill in half. Now in their retirement years, the two men and that dollar bill are reunited in Seattle.

(Watch the video here)

A lifetime ago, Gary Watson served as a combat engineer in Vietnam. He and his family waited at the Center House at The Seattle Center Friday. He scanned the crowd for a face he hasn't seen since 1967. "I'm sure I'll probably recognize him when I see him,” Watson said confidently.

He and fellow soldier Ron Bauer made a simple plan when they parted. Watson said, "We'll just tear this dollar bill in two, sign each half, and when we get back to the states, we'll meet up and put this dollar bill back together."

Time slipped away, but not Gary's or Ron's half of the dollar.

"We've had this in our billfold for 42 years and carried it and not spoken to each other for that length of time,” said Watson.

Gary would marry and have a daughter. That daughter, Abby Sandberg, eventually moved here to Washington state.

Ron Bauer lives in Poulsbo.

Sandberg hit the Internet.

"I think within five minutes of putting his name in the computer, we had a phone number,” she said.

The phone call brought both men to the Seattle Center. Two American soldiers, separated in Vietnam in 1967, met for the first time on American soil. In seconds, a torn dollar and lost friendship were made whole again.

"Maybe it will inspire someone else, because he's a great friend. Always has, always will be,” said Watson.

It won't end here. There's one more torn dollar in Gary's wallet. One more lost friend to find. The name on that other dollar is Johnny Weston from North Carolina. Gary also served with him in Vietnam but has never seen him.