It may sound cheesy to some, but you can’t stop true love.
Norwood Thomas, a 93-year-old veteran, is finally getting the chance to reunite with his sweetheart Joyce Morris (formerly Durrant) after spending more than 70 years apart.
During World War II, Thomas was a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. Morris, an Englishwoman now living in Australia, had met him just months earlier and fallen in love. The circumstances of war had separated them, though, and Thomas returned to the U.S. without Morris.
Image: Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot via AP
“[Thomas] read a news story back in the 1990s about a plane crash out of London. One of the victims listed in the report, an Englishwoman, sounded a lot like his Joyce,” The Virginian-Pilot reported in November.
Then, a few months ago, Thomas harnessed the power of the Internet to try to find his long lost sweetheart. After contacting a reporter at The Virginian-Pilot, he was able to track her down.
Over the next few months, Thomas courted Morris through video dates. In November, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to reunite the couple; it raised more than $7,000 to send Thomas to go see Morris in Australia. Air New Zealand has also offered to fly him first class to Adelaide, Australia, for free.
“I’m numb. I have no idea what my emotions are going to be once we meet face to face,” Thomas told The Virginian-Pilot.
The couple plans on spending Valentine’s Day together.
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