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WWII lovebirds reunite over Skype decades later

Posted at 11:05 AM, Nov 11, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-11 14:05:45-05

Two World War II lovebirds got to reconnect over the Internet after more than 70 years apart.

93-year-old Norwood Thomas, from Virginia, fell in love with Joyce Durrant, a Brit, while he was stationed in London in 1944. The two dated for a few months and Thomas found himself head over heels for Durrant, he told ABC News.

But the two were separated when Thomas was forced to leave for France for the Battle of Normandy.

After the war, Thomas said they sent letters for a bit, including asking Durrant to come to the U.S. to be his wife, according to ABC News.

"She said she couldn't and that she was just getting into nurse's training, and I realized I had more feelings for her than she did for me," he told ABC News. "So I thought that if I couldn't have my first choice, I'd have my second."

Thomas added that his "second choice" was a "beautiful choice" and they were together until she died in 2001 from lymphoma.

A few years after his wife's death, Thomas found himself reminiscing about his time with Durrant and found out she had been thinking about him too. Her son had looked him on the Internet and contacted him.

According to ABC News, Durrant surprised Thomas with a phone call and then their sons set up a Skype session so they could see each other face-to-face. During their chat, Thomas learned that Durrant had married but later divorced.

Durrant still kept a photo of Thomas that she said good morning to everyday.  

The two plan to stand in touch and Thomas told ABC News that he would love to meet up with her in person one day.

"The first thing I'd do? Well, I'd give her a hug," he said.