The bride and groom combined were close to 200 years old. However, as they got married on Saturday inland of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France, World War II veteran Harold Terens and his sweetheart Jeanne Swerlin demonstrated that love never dies.
Because of their different ages—she is only 96 years old, and he is 100—their wedding was practically a double-century event.
“It was the best day of my life,” Terens said.
The vivacious bride-to-be exclaimed, “It’s not just for young people, love, you know? ” as she made her way to the wedding. We experience butterflies. Additionally, there’s a little action.
The site was the gracefully designed town hall of Carentan, one of the main D-Day objectives that witnessed intense combat following the Allied landings on June 6, 1944, which assisted in the liberation of Europe from the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler.
An energetic pipe and drum band was also available to serenade the happy couple as well as well-wishers, some dressed in WWII attire, who gathered behind barriers outside the town hall well in advance of the wedding, as the sounds of Glenn Miller and other classic songs filled the air.
The pair exchanged rings after saying “oui” to vows read aloud in English by the mayor of Carentan.
“With this ring, I thee wed,” Terens declared.
“Really?” she gasped, giggling.
They waved to the crowds outside through an open window, champagne flutes in hand.
“To everybody’s good health. And to peace in the world and the preservation of democracy all over the world and the end of the war in Ukraine and Gaza,” he remarked.
Swerlin was greeted by the throng with cries of “la mariée!” (the bride), as she donned a long, flowing pink dress. With a light-blue suit and a pink kerchief in his breast pocket, Terens looked handsome.
They also had a wonderful wedding night celebration because President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden welcomed them to the state supper at the Élysée Palace on Saturday night.
During the toast honoring the partnership between France and the United States, Macron stated, “Congratulations to the newlyweds,” eliciting applause and a standing ovation from other guests. He informed the newlyweds, “(The town of) Carentan was happy to host your wedding, and us, your wedding dinner.”
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The marriage was not legally binding; it was symbolic. The office of Mayor Jean-Pierre Lhonneur stated that the couple, who are both Americans, had not asked for legally binding vows and that he was not authorized to marry foreigners who are not Carentan residents. But if they wanted to, they could always finish the formalities back in Florida.
There were onlookers waiting to catch a glimpse of the couple, including 73-year-old Jane Ollier, who was wearing a 1940s dress that belonged to her mother, Louise, and a red beret. The pair, both bereaved, grew up in New York City; he was raised in the Bronx and she in Brooklyn.
“It’s so touching to get married at that age,” Ollier stated. “If it can bring them happiness in the last years of their lives, that’s fantastic.”
Shortly after D-Day, the WWII veteran made his first trip to France as a 20-year-old corporal in the US Army Air Forces. After shipping to Britain, Terens enrolled in 1942 and was assigned as a radio repair specialist to a four-pilot P-47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron.
Terens assisted in fixing planes coming back from France on D-Day so they could continue fighting. He said that day, half the pilots in his company perished.
Twelve days later, Terens traveled to France to assist in the transfer of recently liberated American POWs and recently captured Germans to England. Terens assisted in bringing liberated Allied captives to England after the Nazi surrender in May 1945, and he returned to the United States a month later.
Swerlin made it quite evident that her recently centenarian hubby had plenty of rizz.
