Jim Tourgee, left, Jim and Donna Higgonbotham, middle, and Bill Roberts are shown in the 1960s. The three men will be reunited for lunch today.

GOWANDA — In 1963, three United States Army soldiers were sent off to finance school in Indianapolis, before being transported from New York Harbor 10 days later and winding up in Stuttgart, Germany, to continue their service. These three men, Bill Roberts, Jim Higgonbotham, and Jim Tourgee, grew particularly close over the years of service together. When they parted some time in 1965, it would be the last time all three men would be in one room together.

Today, the three will be reunited once again.

Tourgee, Roberts, and Higgonbotham will gather at the Olympia Restaurant in Gowanda from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m to catch up and reminisce about the times that brought them together. Though only Higgonbotham and his wife, Donna, live in Chautauqua County, several circumstances fell into place to get them to their Gowanda meeting point.

“I’m going home to Rhode Island for a celebration of life for our son,” said Tourgee, who currently lives in Lexington, S.C. “Bill was going to a football game in Buffalo and I said if he’s going to Buffalo and I’m going to Rhode Island, we could meet up. I called the Higgonbothams to see if we could all get together and we have it planned for Monday.”

Tourgee said that he has individually seen Higgonbotham and Roberts on their own at various times, but that they haven’t been reunited since they parted in 1965.

“I’ve seen each of them separately but we haven’t had the three of us together,” Tourgee said. “This is the first time since the mid ’60s we’ll all be together.”

Tourgee said he saw Roberts at a barbecue place in Greensboro and he’s been to the Higgonbothams a couple times, as he did a cross country from Rhode Island to Olympia, Wash., and they also met at a bowling tournament in Buffalo in the past.

All three men served in the army, though Roberts and Higgonbotham entered via the draft before they took their ride on the USNS Rose to Germany. Roberts and Higgonbotham got out of the service after then, but Tourgee stayed in for almost 30 years of service. Eventually, Roberts settled in North Carolina, with Tourgee settling in Lexington, while the Higgonbothams live in Sherman. Even in just the couple years they were together, Tourgee said they bonded on weekend nights and he’s looking forward to those memories of the old days coming back.

“It’s going to be a good occasion,” Tourgee said. “It’s unbelievable we’ll all be together again. It brings back a lot of great memories.”