1944 Roosevelt High School graduates remember the good times

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's been 71 years since these seniors were seniors at Roosevelt High School, but they still can remember their fight song. These days, the memories are coming back after reconnecting at the Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens.

"It's really special to have four other classmates from the Roosevelt High School class of 1944 all living here. We already had a class reunion luncheon here," Bud Richter said.

Richter and his classmates share their pictures and yearbooks with each other at the terraces in Northeast Fresno, including Bud's wife, Jan. The two have been together since high school.

"I was after him from second grade on," Jan Richter said.

For many, these bonds go back to their childhood where they remember good times, football games and even rivalries.

"Fresno High...ohhh...there was a little pig that went back and forth for whoever won the football game, and the first year I was at Roosevelt they won the first football game in I don't know how many years," Melba Walker said.

But this generation shares a common bond during a difficult time in history.

"We graduated on a Wednesday night, June the 5th, and June 6th was D-Day, World War II. I was on a train to boot camp and five others of us in class," George Zerlang said.

After the war, these residents came back home and reconnected. Now in their late 80s, they say they can't believe they're embarking upon this chapter together.

"We still like the idea that we're able to do this and have fun doing it. We hope we're able to do it for many years to come," Jan Richter said.

It's a friendship that continues to stand the test of time.