Actress Dana Delany grew emotional recently as she reunited with her China Beach castmates Marg Helgenberger, Troy Evans and Ricki Lake to celebrate the classic Tv drama's 25th anniversary.

The stars of the Vietnam War series were joined by old pals including Michael Boatman, Robert Picardo, Concetta Tomei, Jeff Kober and co-creator John Sacret Young for the special get-together for U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America, which aired on Monday (30Sep13).

Evans, who actually fought in the war before becoming an actor, admitted the show served as a form of therapy for him because he had never really talked about his experiences in the conflict.

He said, "I, like a lot of vets (veterans), just buried it, I thought I'd forgotten it and for me, China Beach was my therapy. That was my bridge back into, really back into, civilisation."

Delany revealed that working on China Beach had given her a sense of purpose and she fought back tears as she recalled her time on the show, which ran for four seasons from 1988 until 1991.

She explained, "For me at least, it was the first acting job where I really felt the responsibility, we felt like we were on a mission...

"(But) you know... Troy was there, we weren't in Vietnam and I just feel like, I'm an actor, but I just feel so honoured that we got to tell some stories that you know, for the other people who couldn't talk, so I'm just glad (for that)."