WASHINGTON D.C – Former U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee has been battling renal failure and undergoing dialysis at least three times a week while waiting for a kidney donation.

But the retired diplomat got a new lease on life this Tuesday when a fellow war veteran stepped forward like a real soldier to save his life.

On average, his wait could have lasted five years, or so.

McGee, 69, and his savior Doug Coffman, 70, are both U.S. Air Force veterans who trained and fought together in the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

After retiring from the military, the airmen lost contact in 1971. But the two ran into each a few months ago, almost 50 years later at a memorial for one of their comrades.

That is when McGee told Coffman about his health situation. And of course, Coffman had his back.

“We had not seen each other face-to-face until we met in Monterey about three months ago… Doug, at that point, volunteered a kidney, and to me, it’s the gift of life,” McGee told Fox5 News after surgery at the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington DC, on Tuesday.

“It means that I can continue the things that I’m so passionate about trying to move ahead,” he continued.

“One of the things that I’m most passionate about right now is making certain that everyone understands that there’s a national crisis — 100,000 people are waiting for kidney transplants, another 15,000 for livertransplants. It’s people like Doug who step forward and make the difference. That’s the real story here today.”

On his part, Coffman, a researcher in natural history and author, who was praised by a transplant surgeon as having the kidneys of a “35-year-old,” was happy to save the life of a fellow comrade, as he would on the battle field.

“I never visualised myself in this position; it would never have occurred to me to become a kidney donor. It’s just being in the right place at the right time,” Coffman also told Fox5 News as he prepared to go under the knife.

“Our blood and tissue type match is good. And to me, it just is living proof that we’re all part of one human family. The chances of our match – I don’t know what the odds were, but we beat them.”

McGee has served as U.S. envoy to Swaziland, Madagascar and the Comoros. He ended his diplomatic career in Harare where he served between 2007 and 2009.

He witnessed Zimbabwe’s worst economic meltdown and political upheavals in recent years as Zanu PF unleashed its dogs of war on MDC supporters during the bloody 2008 run-off election, killing more than 200 people.

The vocal diplomat often caught the ire of then-president Robert Mugabe by calling him out for human rights violations and failing to adhere to basic democratic tenets.