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Time of India
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Meet Harold Terens, a 102-year-old WWII vet who is set to have his first bar mitzvah at the Pentagon
Source: X Age is just a number, and Harold Terens is proving it in the most extraordinary way. Recently turned 102 years old, the World War II veteran from Florida has decided to celebrate a milestone he missed nearly nine decades ago: his first bar mitzvah. And not just anywhere, it will be held at the Pentagon. Born in New York City, Terens marked his 102nd birthday with a festive brunch at a hotel in Delray Beach, joined by his second wife Jeanne (age 97), three children, eight grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. His granddaughter serenaded him with a cappella singing while he mambo danced with Jeanne. 'Best day of my life, believe it or not, and I've had so many,' Terens told The Post. 'I thought my wedding last year in Normandy was the best day of my life, but I think today topped it. And believe me, the best is yet to come. You ain't seen nothing yet.' Terens was previously married to his beloved first wife, Thelma, for 70 years. 'I felt her there in spirit,' he said. Why he never had a bar mitzvah until now? Terens was born to a religious mother from Poland and an anti-religious father from Russia. The two made a compromise: only their older son would have a bar mitzvah. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Harold was never given the chance — a loss he quietly carried his whole life. But that changed recently when Terens was speaking on a panel with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. A Pentagon rabbi overheard him express his lifelong wish. The idea took root immediately. 'That is definitely on my bucket list and that is truly going to happen,' he told The Post. 'It will be a sensational event. My entire family will be there along with friends. They'll all come. No one will miss that event.' He added to the Associated Press: 'That's my next bucket list. I am going to be bar mitzvahed in the Pentagon.' Life of service Terens enlisted in 1942 and was deployed to Great Britain in 1943 as a radio repair technician in a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron. All four original pilots in his unit were killed during the war. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, as 150,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, Terens worked to repair aircraft returning from France. Half his squadron's pilots were lost that day. After the war, he helped transport freed prisoners of war from Normandy back to England. In June 2024, Terens was honored by the French government during the 80th anniversary of the country's liberation. It wasn't his first time back in France, nor will it be his last. 'It's very emotional every time I go,' he told The Post. 'I have friends there that I long to see and that gives me a great deal of pleasure. But going with the veterans is very, very special. I've had some very memorable moments in Normandy.' Source: X Still bursting with energy, Terens has an ambitious year ahead. His bucket list includes a 10-day transatlantic trip that will take him to the opera in Milan, a ballet in Paris, and the London Philharmonic in the UK, all before his Pentagon bar mitzvah next summer. Terens says about 80 people are already on the guest list for the ceremony, and he's planning to make it count. 'My entire family will be there along with friends,' he told The Post. 'They'll all come. No one will miss that event.' The secret to a long, joyful Life Terens, who has met five U.S. presidents, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump, says he owes his longevity to one key thing: low stress. 'I think I'm the richest guy in the world and I don't have any money in the bank,' he told The Post. 'I wouldn't trade my life with anyone in the world no matter who it was. I am happy just who I am and with what I have. I think I have more than anyone else in the world. I am the luckiest guy that God ever created.' 'And when I say the best is yet to come, I don't know what it is — but it's there. I promise you.'


Time of India
a day ago
- General
- Time of India
WWII vet who married at 100 in Normandy, plans Bar Mitzvah at 103 at the Pentagon; still chasing dreams 81 years after D-Day
Harold Terens , a 102-year-old World War II veteran from Florida, is preparing to celebrate his bar mitzvah at the Pentagon next year, a Jewish rite of passage he was denied as a child. The announcement came shortly after he marked his 102nd birthday surrounded by family and friends in Delray Beach. Harold Terens enlisted in the US Army Air Forces in 1942 and served as a radio repair technician for a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Healthcare Technology Design Thinking CXO Project Management Data Science Artificial Intelligence Data Analytics Degree healthcare Others Cybersecurity PGDM Management MCA Data Science Operations Management Digital Marketing Public Policy others Finance Product Management MBA Leadership Skills you'll gain: Financial Analysis in Healthcare Financial Management & Investing Strategic Management in Healthcare Process Design & Analysis Duration: 12 Weeks Indian School of Business Certificate Program in Healthcare Management Starts on Jun 13, 2024 Get Details On D-Day in 1944, he helped repair planes returning from France and later assisted in transporting freed prisoners of war from Normandy to England. In June 2024, he was honored by the French government during the 80th anniversary of the country's liberation from Nazi occupation. Bar Mitzvah at 103 Terens plans to hold the bar mitzvah ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., when he turns 103 next summer. Live Events Born to a religious mother from Poland and an anti-religious father from Russia, he was the second of two sons. His older brother was bar mitzvahed; Terens was not, due to a compromise between his parents. He shared this lifelong wish during a public event, where it was overheard by the rabbi of the Pentagon. The ceremony is now in the works, with around 80 friends and family members already on the guest list. As reported by the Associated Press, Terens said, 'That's my next bucket list. I am going to be bar mitzvahed in the Pentagon.' From D-Day to Normandy wedding In addition to his military service, Terens made headlines in 2024 when he returned to Normandy to marry his partner Jeanne Swerlin, then 96. The couple, both originally from New York, wed in Carentan-les-Marais, near the D-Day landing beaches. After the ceremony, they attended a state dinner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and former US President Joe Biden at the Élysée Palace. Terens, who has met five US presidents during his lifetime, attributes his longevity to keeping stress low and finding joy in life. 'I think I'm the richest guy in the world and I don't have any money in the bank,' he told The New York Post, adding, 'The best is yet to come.'


New York Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
WWII vet marks 102nd birthday and plans for his long-awaited bar mitzvah: ‘The best is yet to come'
A World War II veteran rang in his 102nd birthday surrounded by loved ones in Florida — but said 'the best is yet to come' as he sets out to cross off his bucket-list goals, including a long-awaited bar mitzvah. New York City native Harold Terens was overcome with love and gratitude Saturday morning as he celebrated another year of life with dozens of friends and family, among them his second wife, three children, eight grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren, at a hotel in Delray Beach. 'Best day of my life, believe it or not, and I've had so many,' Terens told The Post, adding he felt his beloved first wife, Thelma, with whom he was married for 70 years, was there in spirit. Advertisement 6 WWII veteran Harold Terens celebrated his 102nd birthday with family and friends Saturday. AP 'I thought my wedding last year in Normandy was the best day of my life, but I think today topped it. And believe me, the best is yet to come. You ain't seen nothing yet.' While the centenarian spent his birthday brunch mambo dancing with his 97-year-old sweetheart, Jeanne, and being serenaded by his a cappella-singing granddaughter, he is already looking ahead to how he'll make the most of his milestone year. Advertisement 6 Terens said it was the best day of his life. AP Some of those bucket list items include a 10-day transatlantic trip, where the 'ballet buff' plans to take in the opera in Milan, catch a ballet in Paris, and head to the United Kingdom to hear the London Philharmonic. The lively senior then intends to mark his 103rd birthday with a bar mitzvah ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, next summer – a major achievement he was denied as a child. 'My mother is from Poland and my father is from Russia,' he said. Advertisement 6 He's now looking to the future, where he will celebrate his bar mitzvah at the age of 103. AP 'My mother was religious. My father was anti-religion, and they had two sons and they agreed that my older brother would be bar mitzvahed and then I would not, [to] pacify my father.' Next year's momentous occasion took shape after Terens was speaking on a panel with CNN's Wolf Blitzer and a Pentagon rabbi overheard him mention his lifelong wish to have a bar mitzvah. 'That is definitely on my bucket list and that is truly going to happen,' he joyfully said, noting that 80 of his closest friends and family members have already been added to the guest list. Advertisement 6 Telens and his second wife, Jeanne, who he wed in Normandy last June. AP 'It will be a sensational event. My entire family will be there along with friends. They'll all come. No one will miss that event.' Terens enlisted in 1942 and was sent to Great Britain the following year, serving as a radio repair technician for a four-pilot P-47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron. All his original pilots died in the war. On D-Day — where more than 150,000 Allied troops invaded five Nazi Germany-occluded beaches in Normandy on June 6, 1944 — he aided in repairing planes coming back from France, with half his company's pilots perishing that day. He has since returned to the fateful spot several times, including in 2024 when he was honored by the French for his service, to mark pivotal anniversaries and to wed his new love. 6 Terens enlisted in 1942 and aided in repairing planes on D-Day. AFP via Getty Images 'It's very emotional every time I go,' said Terens, who plans to return for the 82nd anniversary. 'I have friends there that I long to see and that gives me a great deal of pleasure. But going with the veterans is very, very special. I've had some very memorable moments in Normandy.' Advertisement Terens, who has met five US presidents, including George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, said the secret to his longevity and drive is simple: minimize stress. 6 He plans to return to Normandy for the 82nd anniversary of the historic day of liberation. AFP via Getty Images But reflecting on his long life, the Lake Worth resident considers himself the luckiest man alive. Advertisement 'I think I'm the richest guy in the world and I don't have any money in the bank,' Terens boasted. 'I wouldn't trade my life with anyone in the world no matter who it was. I am happy just who I am and with what I have. I think I have more than anyone else in the world. I am the luckiest guy that God ever created. When I say the best is yet to come, I don't know what it is but it's there. I promise you.'


Yomiuri Shimbun
07-06-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
D-Day Veterans Return to Normandy to Mark 81st Anniversary of Landings
The Associated Press World War II veteran Jake Larson meets youths during ceremonies at the US cemetery to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings, Friday, June 6, 2025 in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy. COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — Veterans gathered Friday in Normandy to mark the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings — a pivotal moment of World War II that eventually led to the collapse of Adolf Hitler's regime. Along the coastline and near the D-Day landing beaches, tens of thousands of onlookers attended the commemorations, which included parachute jumps, flyovers, remembrance ceremonies, parades, and historical reenactments. Many were there to cheer the ever-dwindling number of surviving veterans in their late 90s and older. All remembered the thousands who died. Harold Terens, a 101-year-old U.S. veteran who last year married his 96-year-old sweetheart near the D-Day beaches, was back in Normandy. 'Freedom is everything,' he said. 'I pray for freedom for the whole world. For the war to end in Ukraine, and Russia, and Sudan and Gaza. I think war is disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.' Terens enlisted in 1942 and shipped to Great Britain the following year, attached to a four-pilot P-47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron as their radio repair technician. On D-Day, Terens helped repair planes returning from France so they could rejoin the battle. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commemorated the anniversary of the D-Day landings, in which American soldiers played a leading role, with veterans at the American Cemetery overlooking the shore in the village of Colleville-sur-Mer. French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu told Hegseth that France knows what it owes to its American allies and the veterans who helped free Europe from the Nazis. 'We don't forget that our oldest allies were there in this grave moment of our history. I say it with deep respect in front of you, veterans, who incarnate this unique friendship between our two countries,' he said. Hegseth said France and the United States should be prepared to fight if danger arises again, and that 'good men are still needed to stand up.' 'Today the United States and France again rally together to confront such threats,' he said, without mentioning a specific enemy. 'Because we strive for peace, we must prepare for war and hopefully deter it.' The June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France used the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to breach Hitler's defenses in western Europe. A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself. In the ensuing Battle of Normandy, 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded. The battle — and especially Allied bombings of French villages and cities — killed around 20,000 French civilians between June and August 1944. The exact number of German casualties is unknown, but historians estimate between 4,000 and 9,000 men were killed, wounded or missing during the D-Day invasion alone. Nearly 160,000 Allied troops landed on D-Day. Of those, 73,000 were from the U.S. and 83,000 from Britain and Canada. Forces from several other countries were also involved, including French troops fighting with Gen. Charles de Gaulle. The Allies faced around 50,000 German forces. More than 2 million Allied soldiers, sailors, pilots, medics and other people from a dozen countries were involved in the overall Operation Overlord, the battle to wrest western France from Nazi control that started on D-Day.


Boston Globe
27-01-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
More DEI fallout: Air Force scraps course that used videos of Tuskegee Airmen and female WWII pilots
The problem may not be with the historical videos themselves, but that they were used in Air Force basic military training DEI coursework. However, the lack of clearer guidance has sent the Air Force and other agencies scrambling to take the broadest approach to what content is removed to make sure they are in compliance. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The Tuskegee Airmen, known as the 'Red Tails' were the nation's first Black military pilots who served in a segregated WWII unit and their all-Black 332nd Fighter Group had one of the lowest loss records of all the bomber escorts in the war. Advertisement They flew P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang and other fighter aircraft to escort American bombers on dangerous missions over Germany. Before the fighter escorts began accompanying the slow and heavy U.S. bombers, losses were catastrophic due to getting dive-bombed and strafed by German aircraft. In a statement late Saturday, Tuskegee Airmen Inc. the nonprofit foundation created to preserve the legacy of those pilots, said it was 'strongly opposed' to the removal of the videos to comply with Trump's order. The stories of the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASPs 'are an essential part of American history and carried significant weight in the World War II veteran community. We believe the content of these courses does not promote one category of service member or citizen over another. They are simply a part of American military history that all service members should be made aware of,' the group said. Advertisement President George W. Bush awarded the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal in a ceremony at the Capitol Rotunda in 2007. In 2020, in his State of the Union address, Trump announced he had promoted one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, Charles McGee, to brigadier general. McGee died in 2022 at age 102. The WASPs contributed to World War II by learning to fly and ferry new bombers off the assembly lines to airfields where they were needed to ship off to war — freeing up male pilots to focus on combat missions overseas. They earned the right to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery just in the last decade. The Air Force, like other branches, has recently tried to broaden the number of people they reach to consider military careers like aviation that historically have had few minority service members in their ranks.