A World War II veteran and centenarian and his 96-year-old bride tied the knot near the D-Day beaches in Normandy.
On June 8, Harold Terens and Jeanne Swerlin were married. inland from the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France.
Radiant with joy, the couple who met in 2021 said ‘I do’ in the historic town hall of Carentan-les-Marais, the same place that the Allied forces invaded so many years ago, altering the course of the war against the Nazis.
Terens, originally from the Bronx, New York, enlisted in the Army Air Force more than 80 years ago. He served in the Army from 1942 to 1945 as a radio technician.
With a collective age approaching 200, the cheerful bride-to-be said on the way to the nuptials: ‘It’s not just for the young, love, you know? We get butterflies. And we’ll have some action too.’
Pictured: 100-year-old American World War II veteran Harold Terens and his 96-year-old bride, Jeanne Swerlin Terens, kiss before taking their vows at Carentan-les-Marais Town Hall on June 8, 2024.
Terens, originally from the Bronx, New York, enlisted in the Army Air Force more than 80 years ago. He served in the Army from 1942 to 1945 as a radio technician.
As Glenn Miller’s swing and other period tunes echoed through the streets, well-wishers lined up an hour before the wedding.
After both declared ‘oui’ to the vows read in English by the mayor of Carentan, the couple exchanged rings.
“With this ring I marry you,” said Terens. She laughed and gasped, ‘Really?’
Champagne glasses in hand, they waved through an open window to the adoring crowd outside.
‘For everyone’s good health. And for peace in the world and the preservation of democracy around the world and the end of the war in Ukraine and Gaza,” Terens said as he and his girlfriend clinked glasses and drank.
The crowd shouted ‘la mariée!’ – girlfriend! – to Swerlin, who was wearing a long, flowy dress in vibrant pink.
Terens looked dapper in a light blue suit and a matching pink handkerchief in his breast pocket.
After the ceremony, they were invited to the state dinner at the Elysee Palace on Saturday evening with French President Emmanuel Macron and President Biden.
“Congratulations to the newlyweds,” Macron said, drawing cheers and a standing ovation from other guests during the toast in praise of Franco-American friendship.
Together, the collective age of the bride and groom was almost 200 years.
Terens, left, and Jeanne Swerlin, 96, smile from a window after celebrating their wedding at the town hall in Carentan-les-Marais, in Normandy, northwest France, where they were married by the mayor.
The couple was founded by the daughter of Swerlin’s last partner, who died after sharing 25 years together.
Terens became a Morse code operator and was paired with a four-pilot P-47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron when he embarked for Britain in 1942.
None of the original pilots Terens worked with survived the war. On D-Day, Terens was sent to repair planes returning from France so they could rejoin the battle. Half of the pilots in his company died that day.
Terens was sent to Normandy twelve days after the landing to bring back the prisoners of war.
“I brought some American airmen who were prisoners of war liberated from German stalags,” he said. “A group of emaciated pilots, bombers, navigators, gunners, all in very, very bad condition.”
“I did that about six times: (also) bringing back Germans who were taken prisoner in Normandy, and also some British soldiers.”
He said he still has nightmares about his time in the service and didn’t even think he would return home to his family alive.
‘It was a disgusting war. Normandy was simply a horror to behold. I still have nightmares about the war.
‘I never thought I would see my mother, my father, my sister or my brother again. They were going to kill me. That’s how you feel when you’re a kid, in your 20s, and you’re a soldier, and there’s a war. What the hell? They were going to kill me anyway.’
On D-Day, Terens was sent to repair planes returning from France so they could rejoin the battle. Half of the pilots in his company died that day.
Terens and Swerlin flew to France courtesy of Delta for both the wedding and D-Day 80th anniversary celebrations via Delta Air Lines, which maintains the tradition of transporting surviving veterans to commemorate the historic invasion.
While Terens was fighting in the war, she was in high school hanging out with soldiers who brought her gifts to impress her—a juxtaposition they both laugh about today.
While Terens was fighting in the war, she was in high school dating soldiers who brought her gifts to impress her, a juxtaposition the two laugh about today.
When he returned from the war, Terens married his first wife, Thelma, in 1948. The couple had two daughters and a son.
He became an American vice president of a British conglomerate, while his wife was a French teacher. Thelma, who retired from teaching in 2006, passed away in 2018.
The couple has been married for 70 years and shares eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Swerlin married her first husband at age 21, with whom she shares two daughters and a son, but was widowed at age 40. Her second husband died after 18 years of marriage.
She had a long-time partner, Sol Katz, for 25 years before he died in 2019. Swerlin has seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
