Would you forget your first love even after 70 years?
Duane Mann, a Korean War veteran from Woodbine, Iowa, met the love of his life, Peggy Yamguchi, in 1954 when he was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan.
They met at the Air Force Non-Commissioned Officers Club, where Duane worked as a slot machine repairman and Peggy was the hot check girl.
They both had the same free days and they spent most of this time together.
Soon enough, they fell in love and planned to get married.
Duane still had a couple of months to prepare for the wedding before he gets shipped back to the US.
He was surprised when the Navy decided to ship them back two months earlier than planned.
Duane and the other navy personnel had a week to pack up.
They couldn’t get married in a week so Duane had to leave her behind with a promise that he’ll come back for her and their unborn child.
Yes, they found out that Peggy was pregnant before he was shipped out.
As soon as he was discharged, Duane went back home to Iowa to use his savings for Peggy.
Unfortunately, his father spent all of Duane’s savings and he was forced to get another job so he can save again.
Duane found a job with a construction company that took him to different places all over the US. He could only come home to his parent’s house several times a year.
Duane and Peggy still kept in touch through letters.
Peggy wrote him regularly and Duane would get the letters every time he came to his parent’s house.
One day, the letters from Peggy stopped coming.
Duane didn’t receive a letter until after three months, which his sister handed to him.
In the letter, Peggy told him that she lost their baby and she had married an airforce man.
That was also the time when Duane found out his mom burned all of Peggy’s letters because she didn’t want her son to marry a Japanese girl.
Duane was devastated but never confronted his mother.
He focused on his work and tried to forget Peggy.
Eventually, he did get married and had children.
Despite all that, he never forgot Peggy.
Now, 70 years later, he is a widow who wanted to find Peggy.
He wanted to apologize because she probably believed he abandoned her.
Duane’s son, Brian, helped him find Peggy.
They posted it on Facebook, where the post was shared more than 900 times.
It caught the attention of the media and the story spread to Japan.
It was a young lady from Vancouver, Canada, who proved to be the key to finding Peggy.
Theresa Wong used her research skills for her work at the History Channel to look for Peggy.
Wouldn’t you know it? Peggy wasn’t on the other side of the world.
She was just on the other side of the Mississippi River living in Escanaba, Michigan.
Peggy moved there with her husband and this is where they raised their three sons.
Rich Sedenquist, Peggy’s son, was the one who found out about the story.
“I thought ‘what the heck is going on here? What kind of scam artist is this one?'” Rich shared. “One way to find out. I took my Bluetooth headphones over there, brought your video clip and I played it and she right away said, ‘I remember him. He really loved me.'”
Finally, the day has come. Duane was going to see Peggy again after 70 years.
What will their reactions be?
It was a good one.
As soon as they laid eyes on each other, they immediately had big smiles on their faces.
They sat down beside each other and reminisced about their days together.
Finally, Duane got to tell her that he didn’t abandon her.
Peggy got to thank him for always remembering her.
Learn more about their story and reunion when you watch the video below.
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