The bride and groom’s combined ages are nearly 200 years old. But American World War II veteran Harold Terence and his girlfriend Jean Swearin proved that love can last forever when they were married near the D-Day beaches of Normandy, France.
The husband is 100 years old and the wife is a young 96-year-old, and their wedding on Saturday marked the celebration of almost their second century.
Terence called it “the best day of my life.”
On the way to the wedding, the cheerful bride said, “Love isn’t just for the young, you know? We get excited too. And a little action, too.”
The site is Carentan’s elegant stone town hall, the site of fierce fighting after the Allied landings on June 6, 1944, and a key first objective of the Normandy landings that defeated Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
Like other towns and villages along the Normandy coast, where some 160,000 Allied troops landed under fire on five code-named beaches, the site has become a vibrant hub of commemoration and celebration, decked out in flags and bunting and celebrating veterans like rock stars to mark the 80th anniversary of that day.
Well-wishers, including some dressed in World War II-era costumes, lined up behind the fence outside City Hall for an hour before the nuptials as Glenn Miller swing and other period music echoed through the streets, and an excited pipe-and-drum band also serenaded the happy couple.
After the couple said “yes” to vows read in English by Mayor Carentan, they exchanged rings.
“With this ring, I marry you,” Terence said.
She gasped between giggles, “Really?”
With champagne glasses in hand, they waved through open windows to the enthusiastic crowds outside.
“I wish you all good health, world peace, the preservation of democracy around the world, and an end to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza,” Terence said, clinking glasses with his bride.
The crowd chanted “La Marie!” (The Bride!) as Swerlin wore a long, flowing bright pink dress, while Terence looked dapper in a light blue suit with a pink scarf tucked into his breast pocket.
Wedding reception at the Elysee Palace
And they enjoyed a special wedding night: On Saturday night, they were treated to a state dinner at the Elysee Palace along with French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden.
“Congratulations to the newlyweds,” Macron said, drawing cheers and a standing ovation from other guests as he proposed a toast to French-American friendship.[The town of] Carentan will be happy to host your wedding and we will be happy to host your wedding reception,” he told the couple.
The wedding is symbolic and not legally binding. Mayor Jean-Pierre Ronneur’s office said he does not have the authority to marry foreigners who are not residents of Carentan, and the couple are not seeking legally binding vows. But they can always return to Florida, USA, to complete these formalities if they wish.
Honneur likes to say that Normandy is, in effect, the 51st state of the United States, out of respect and gratitude for the sacrifices of the Allied soldiers and the tens of thousands who never returned home from the Battle of Normandy.
“Love is forever, maybe,” the mayor said of the newlyweds, a comment that accurately captures the feelings many Northampton residents have toward veterans.
“I wish them both the best.”
Jane O’Leary, 73, was among the spectators who watched to catch a glimpse of the lovebirds, wearing her mother Louise’s 1940s dress and red beret. The couple, both widowed, grew up in New York City, Jane in Brooklyn and Jane in the Bronx.
“It’s very moving to get married at that age,” O’Reilly said. “If it brings them happiness in the last few years of their lives, that’s wonderful.”
Memories of D-Day
A World War II veteran, Terence first visited France as a 20-year-old U.S. Army Air Corps corporal shortly after the Normandy landings. He enlisted in 1942 and was sent to England, where he was assigned to a four-pilot P-47 Thunderbolt fighter unit as a radio repair technician.
On D-Day, Terence helped repair planes returning from France so they could return to combat. According to Terence, half of the pilots in his company were killed that day. Terence himself went to France twelve days later to help transport recently captured Germans and recently liberated American POWs to Britain. After the Nazi surrender in May 1945, Terence again helped transport liberated Allied POWs to Britain, returning to the United States a month later.
Ms. Swerlin made it clear that her 100-year-old husband was not unattractive.
“He’s the best kisser ever, you know that?” she proudly declared, as the two shared a passionate embrace in front of the TV cameras.
“Okay! That’s it for now!” Terence said, surfacing for a breather.
She quickly replied, “Anything else later?”