Harold Terence, now 100 years old, first visited France when he was 20 years old while he was part of the North American troops fighting in World War II.
The old man, who holds the energy of other times, will be honored by the French in June to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of France from the hands of the Nazis, which began with the Normandy landings.
After this, the former soldier intends to marry 96-year-old Zhanna Sverlin in a country located near the beaches that became the scene of D-Day.
“I love this woman. She’s special,” Terence said of the woman he’s been dating since 2021. To demonstrate their joy and youth, the couple danced, AP News reports, to the strains of Mark’s “Uptown Funk.” Ronson and Bruno Mars.
“He’s an amazing man. He loves me very much and talks about it all the time,” says Zhanna and adds: “He’s the best kisser.”
The couple grew up in New York – he in Brooklyn and she in the Bronx. Years later, they recall the differences in how they experienced World War II.
The woman went to school and met with soldiers who brought her gifts to impress her.
Harold joined the army in 1942 and went to Britain the following year. He was responsible for repairing the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter radio. On D-Day, the veteran repaired planes returning from France to return to battle. The American says that half of his company’s pilots died that day.
The man contracted bacillary dysentery, an intestinal disease that nearly caused his death. This wouldn’t be the first time he’d been on death’s door. In the United Kingdom, a bar worker refused to offer him a drink after closing, despite the war veteran’s insistence. After leaving this place, a German rocket destroyed the “pub”.
Harold arrived in the United States after the end of the war. He married in 1948 and had three children. The woman died in 2018 after a 70-year marriage that produced eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Jeanne, also a widow, was introduced to Harold by her daughter in 2021. The veteran had no intention of starting a relationship again, but ended up falling in love.
This May, the couple and their families will travel to Paris, where they will honor the North American. The man will be in France for the fifth time, where he received a medal from Emmanuel Macron five years ago.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal
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