91-Year-Old War Veteran Reunites With Japanese Love Finally After 70 Years

Seventy years after they first met in Japan, a Korean War veteran meets up with his long-lost love.

Some while ago, we wrote an article about a 91-year-old war veteran who fell in love with a Japanese woman but was forced to leave Japan. His parents hid her letters from him for months and tried to separate them.

Peggy Yamaguchi was her name, and to him, she was precious. They were parted by life, but Mann is now 91 years old and determined like never before to locate her.

He uploaded a photo of Yamaguchi that he had earlier taken on Facebook along with a request for aid in locating Yamaguchi, writing:

I’m going to make one more attempt to track down this Japanese girl or a relative of her family.

The two first connected at an army officers’ club between 1953 and 1954, where Mann was employed as a technician and sergeant-at-arms in his spare time, and Yamaguchi worked in the hat check room.

They soon fell in love, started meeting every day, and eventually were the only people in the club.

After deciding to be married, Yamaguchi shortly became pregnant. Their relationship ended abruptly about a year after the Korean War ended. Mann was returned to the United States by the Navy.

When Mann returned to his Pisgah, Iowa, home, he realized his money was missing.

If he was killed in combat, Mann had left his savings account in his father’s name, and his father had already depleted it completely. He clarified:

I would not have gone home if I had known I lacked money.

The letters were intercepted and burnt by his mother. She opposed Mann marrying a Japanese woman. He fulfilled her request for a Christian girl. Six children were born through his two marriages. But he never lost sight of the lady for whom he had fallen.

He wept as he said to KETV:

The terrifying part is that Peggy must have believed I had left her. Therefore I have spent the very last 70 years looking for her. She saw me leaving Japan.

Mann’s tale was shown on KKTV and rapidly went viral online. Worldwide support was given to Mann’s lifetime pursuit of many people.

Yamaguchi, as per Upworthy, resided in Michigan, 650 miles distant across the Mississippi River. With her 2nd husband, with whom she had three children, she established a life there.

Yamaguchi Sedenquist, formerly Peggy Yamaguchi, stated. She had remarried another man in 1955 and had three boys with him, just as she had informed Mann. She hadn’t forgotten about her handsome American lover, either. Her oldest kid has the middle name “Duane.”

Nearly 70 years after their heartbreaking parting, Duane Mann and Peggy Yamaguchi Sedenquist were reunited.

They embraced and shared memories of dancing in Japan. Additionally, Yamaguchi gave Mann his word that she didn’t feel deserted by him. It brings an old heartache to a joyful conclusion for the 91-year-old Mann.

Source: 9GAG

Also read about 91-Year-Old War Vet Has Been Searching For His First Love, A Japanese Women For 70 Years