They traveled. They got together. They watched. They loved. And, deftly the United States Marine combat veterans busted the chops of a big network broadcast journalist who had joined their collective binge, but had also made a huge mistake: he admitted he’d never seen “a second” of “Gilmore Girls.”

“Go [expletive] yourself!” said one of the leathernecks, Jesse, in jest. “Get out. Get the shotgun, Donny. We’ve got to take care of this guy.”

“Why are you here?” said another.

“Get me Charlie Rose!” said Luke.

As CBS News correspondent, and Marine comedy punching bag Ben Tracy pointed out in his touching piece below, the story of how these former service members got hooked on the drama detailing the adventures of Rory and Lorelai is poignant and funny, but it’s a lot more than that. Because it all happened while they were fighting a war.

“So I found season two. It was unopened in like some library in the middle of a base in Iraq,” said Jesse, who along with Luke, Erik and John were at the time, in 2005, members of a sniper platoon in Ramadi, Iraq.

“At least for me, Stars Hollow [the fictional town in the show] was the America I think we all thought — we all wished we were fighting for,” said Erik.

The Marine was so moved by the series, he wrote a letter to its creators.

During the CBS interview, he read a snippet from it, tears streaming down his face:

“Part of the attraction is a simple case of contrasts. I live in a strict, macho, sometimes violent world that very often does not make sense. Stars Hollow … is pretty, it’s warm, it’s friendly. And then there’s the simple human stories …”

“Relationships between parents and children, brothers and sisters, loves lost and found, and friends who are always there. In the end, much of the entertainment is escapism. And for me and a few friends over here in Iraq, there’s no place we’d rather escape to. It reminds us of all the best parts of home.”

CBS learned that one of the show’s creators, Amy Sherman-Palladino, has kept the letter all these years later.

She, along with her husband (the other writer of “Gilmore Girls”), sent the Marines jackets when they first received the correspondence a decade ago.

When the vets met for the aforementioned reunion, the creator couple joined them via FaceTime. The show is experiencing a revival after new episodes were created and available to stream on Netflix.

“They’re wearing them!” said Amy, shocked after the guys revealed they were wearing their old show coats for the viewing.

“Oh my god. Are you okay with the shows? If you are unhappy, I’ll redo them,” she said.

“No we love them. But if you want to redo them we’d watch them.”