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Where's 'Louisiana'? Search for long-lost war buddy comes to an end

James Garvin says he would like to find his friend, but he only remembers the nickname "Louisiana."

The national search for a long-lost Vietnam war veteran affectionately known as "Louisiana" has come to an end.

In May, a group of Vietnam veterans returning home from a reunion in Florida put out a plea to find a comrade-in-arms who went by the nickname "Louisiana." The post gained national attention and "Louisiana" was identified as Harold Lee Thomas, a South Carolina native who died in 2015, WBRZ-TV reports.

"LOUISIANA has been found! Our hearts are full and we are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love for our guys," Susan Garvin shared on Facebook this weekend. Gavin is the wife of James Garvin, the man who put out the initial plea to find his friend.

"And his story reminds us all, don’t wait another day to find a Vietnam vet and tell him, 'Welcome home,'" Susan Garvin posted.

Original Story Below:

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A group of Vietnam veterans returning from a reunion in Florida are now searching for a long-lost comrade-in-arms who went by a nickname for his home state.

James Garvin tells WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge that he would like to tell his friend how much he missed him, but he only remembers the nickname “Louisiana."

“There were many men in our unit that we did not know their names because they had nicknames like ‘Louisiana’ or ‘Mississippi,’” Garvin said.

Garvin and a dozen of his fellow infantry platoon members sent out a plea on social media over the weekend asking anyone if they know the man who helped to keep their morale high. The post has been shared more than 15,000 times with comments from people across the state chiming in.

The post says “Louisiana” was with Army infantry, D Company, 2/8th Cavalry, Range platoon in Vietnam. The man had dark curly hair and wore a necklace along with his dog tags. He would have been around 18-20 years old in 1970.

"The picture represents the beautiful grin he had most of the time," Gavin said.

Read more on WBRZ.com

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