A World War II veteran just married his bride near Normandy’s D-Day beaches. He’s 100, she’s 96
- Harold Terens and Jeanne Swerlin tied the knot in Carentan, a key initial D-Day objective that saw ferocious fighting after the June 6, 1944 Allied landings
Together, the collective age of the bride and groom was nearly 200. But World War II veteran Harold Terens and his sweetheart Jeanne Swerlin proved that love is eternal as they tied the knot on Saturday inland of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France.
Their respective ages – he’s 100, she’s a youngster of just 96 – made their nuptials an almost double-century celebration.
Terens called it ″the best day of my life″.
On her way into the nuptials, the bubbly bride-to-be said, “It’s not just for young people, love, you know? We get butterflies. And we get a little action, also.”
The location was the elegant stone-worked town hall of Carentan, a key initial D-Day objective that saw ferocious fighting after the June 6, 1944, Allied landings that helped rid Europe of Adolf Hitler’s tyranny.
Like other towns and villages across the Normandy coast where nearly 160,000 Allied troops came ashore under fire on five code-named beaches, it is an effervescent hub of remembrance and celebration on the 80th anniversary for the deeds and sacrifices of young men and women that day, festooned with flags and bunting and with veterans feted like rockstars.