CARENTAN-LES-MARAIS, France (AP) 鈥 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 Saturday inland of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France.
Their respective ages 鈥 he鈥檚 100, she鈥檚 a youngster of just 96 鈥 made their nuptials an almost double-century celebration.
Terens called it 鈥硉he best day of my life.鈥
On her way , the bubbly bride-to-be said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just for young people, love, you know? We get butterflies. And we get a little action, also.鈥
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
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鈥檚 an effervescent hub of remembrance and of the deeds and sacrifices of young men and women that day, festooned with flags and bunting and with veterans feted like rockstars.
As the swing of Glenn Miller and other period tunes rang out on the streets, well-wishers 鈥 some in WWII-period clothes 鈥 were already lined up a good hour before the wedding, behind barriers outside the town hall, with a rousing pipe and drum band also on hand to serenade the happy couple.
After both declaring 鈥渙ui鈥 to vows read by Carentan's mayor in English, the couple exchanged rings.
"With this ring, I thee wed," Terens said.
She giggled and gasped, 鈥淩eally?鈥
With Champagne flutes in hand, they waved through an open window to the adoring crowds outside.
鈥淭o 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,鈥 Terens said as he and his bride then clinked glasses and drank.
The crowd yelled 鈥渓a mari茅e!鈥 - the bride! 鈥 to Swerlin, who wore a long flowing dress of vibrant pink. Terens looked dapper in a light blue suit and matching pink kerchief in his breast pocket.
And they enjoyed a very special wedding-night party: They were invited to the state dinner at the Elysee Palace on Saturday night with .
"Congratulations to the newlyweds," Macron said, prompting cheers and a standing ovation from other guests during the toast praising French-American friendship. 鈥(The town of) Carentan was happy to host your wedding, and us, your wedding dinner,鈥 he told the couple.
The wedding was symbolic, not binding in law. Mayor Jean-Pierre Lhonneur's office said he wasn鈥檛 empowered to wed foreigners who aren鈥檛 residents of Carentan, and that the couple, who are both American, hadn鈥檛 requested legally binding vows. However, they could always complete those formalities back in Florida if they wished.
Lhonneur likes to say that Normandy is practically the 51st state of the USA, given its reverence and gratitude for Allied soldiers and the sacrifices of tens of thousands who never made it home from the Battle of Normandy.
鈥淟ove is eternal, yes, maybe," the mayor said, referring to the newlyweds, although his comments also fittingly describe the feelings of many Normans for veterans.
鈥淚 hope for them the best happiness together.鈥
Dressed in a 1940s dress that belonged to her mother, Louise, and a red beret, 73-year-old Jane Ollier was among spectators who waited for a glimpse of the lovebirds. The couple, both widowed, grew up in New York City: she in Brooklyn, he in the Bronx.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so touching to get married at that age,'' Ollier said. 鈥淚f it can bring them happiness in the last years of their lives, that鈥檚 fantastic.鈥
The WWII veteran first visited France as a 20-year-old U.S. Army Air Forces corporal shortly after D-Day. Terens enlisted in 1942 and, after shipping to Britain, was attached to a four-pilot P-47 Thunderbolt fighter unit as their radio repair technician.
On D-Day, Terens helped repair planes returning from France so they could rejoin the battle. He said half his company鈥檚 pilots died that day. Terens himself went to France 12 days later, helping transport freshly captured Germans and just-freed American POWs to England. Following the Nazi surrender in May 1945, Terens again helped transport freed Allied prisoners to England before he shipped back to the U.S. a month later.
Swerlin made it abundantly clear that her new centenarian husband doesn't lack for .
鈥淗e's the greatest kisser ever, you know?鈥 she proudly declared before they embraced enthusiastically for TV cameras.
鈥淎ll right ! That's it for now !鈥 Terens said as he came up for air.
To which she quickly quipped: 鈥淵ou mean there's more later?鈥
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AP journalists Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale contributed to this report.
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See more AP coverage of the 80th anniversary of D-Day at
