MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Inexorable determination - a hallmark of Marines past and present. For example, take Ron Portal, 54, a Vietnam War veteran, whose unyielding persistence enabled him to find his father, a World War II veteran and retired Marine, after a 25-year hiatus. Ron and his father, George Portal, 80, a retired master sergeant, now cherish their twice-annual reunions, one of which commemorates the Marine Corps birthday. Each year, Ron travels from his home near Stockton and attends the annual Camp Pendleton Marine Corps birthday pageant with his father. Hours before the pageant starts, the two dress in their dress-blue uniforms and reminisce about the old days."Even if I were to lose a leg, I would just carry it down," Ron said. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. It's a major thing for me, coming to the pageant every year."Including this year's cancellation of the pageant, the two have missed only one other year since they first reunited.George, who joined the Marine Corps after the attacks on Pearl Harbor in 1941, was a gunner on the USS Columbia, which accounts for his impaired hearing now."Too many boom, boom, booms," said George.Ron, who also suffers from poor hearing, explains that when sitting out on the porch together, all they say is "what, huh?" back and forth to each other."Just being with each other is what I cherish, but we don't even talk a whole lot," he said. "Just with the expression on his face, I understand what he is thinking."George, able to recall only limited memories, recounted a time aboard the USS Columbia when it was attacked."The only thing I can remember was when one of three Japanese kamikaze planes struck the front of the ship and the damn thing nearly blew me overboard," George said.In 1966, Ron decided to follow in his father's footsteps and joined the Marine Corps."It was important for me to be a Marine," Ron said. "I wanted to be a part of my dad so much and experience things that he did." "I was proud, but I wished he hadn't (joined), because I didn't know where they'd send him," George said. "When I learned that he got orders to Vietnam, I was worried all the time."By 1967, Ron and George had lost contact with each other, and in 1968, George retired from service, making him harder to find.From 1967 to 1992, Ron and George were unable to find each other - two and a half decades lost.After a tour in Vietnam, Ron left the Marine Corps as a corporal in 1970.Cut off from his roots, Ron began the quest to find his father."I always wanted to know my dad," Ron said.During the separation, Ron often returned to San Diego to celebrate Christmas with his mother, who had divorced from George years back. Meanwhile, he kept searching. "I knew he was a religious man, so every time I came home for Christmas, I'd go to the churches in the area and ask people if there was a man by his name attending the church," Ron said.By Christmas 1992, he had nearly lost hope. "I decided that if I didn't find him that trip, I would give up," Ron said. "It would be the last time."He walked up to the doors of a church and met head-on with its leader. He hesitantly asked if he knew of a George Portal. With a nod and a smile, the priest said he did have a man in his congregation by that name, and "he should be arriving soon.""My jaw dropped," Ron said. "I was speechless."A feeling of nervousness came over Ron. Not knowing whether his father wanted to see him, he left a family portrait and a phone number. Two days later, his phone rang, and "the rest is history.""While I was losing my marriage, I found my dad," Ron said. "It was an answered prayer. I always wanted to meet my dad."I always yearned for it, then it came true, and our relationship is more than I expected and hoped.""I hope he's saying nice things," George said. "My mother never said a bad word about him," Ron said. "He's a good man, which was a comfort to me."Ron offered a final word of encouragement based on his own experience. "If you hold on long enough, things will come together," he said.