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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.
“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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.”
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.
But reflecting on his long life, the Lake Worth resident considers himself the luckiest man alive.
“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.”
English (US)