Greensboro, NC -- We all know December 7, 1941 as the day Pearl Harbor was attacked.
For Edith and Earl Colin, however, that date in history is also the day they decided to change their lives forever. It's the day they got married.
The couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary Wednesday at Greensboro Place, a senior living facility.
At the party, 90-year-old Earl shared their story with residents, staff, and their friends.
"In 1941 I was in the First U.S. Army, a staff sergeant," explained Earl.
"I was sent to Hamlet, North Carolina in the Carolina maneuvers and while there I looked across the across the floor of a dance hall and saw a pretty girl," he said about Edith, who is now 89.
"We had a dance or two and she allowed me to walk her home that night and she said, 'you're the rudest Yankee I've ever seen in my life and I told her I was going to marry her and she said, 'well you're crazy, too.'"
Earl was right. They stayed together and planned to get married on December 21st.
"But the Japanese changed our plans," said Earl.
"On December 7th we were in church in Wadesboro, North Carolina and an usher came down the hall and said that Pearl Harbor had been bombed and all service men should return to their stations immediately," explained Earl. "I had a good buddy who was my First Sergeant and I called him and I said I'm not going back to post. I'm going to get married."
So they went to South Carolina and with only a few witnesses, they became husband and wife.
Six months later, Earl was in Ireland. He stayed overseas for more than three years.
"My last battle was the Battle of the Bulge and conditions there as you know were very bad, and I kept Edith's picture, if you're all familiar with cellophane that goes around cigarette packs, I kept her picture in there, right in my breast pocket up here and I carried it through the war," said Earl.
He showed his collection of medals from his time in service.
He came home to the United States in 1945.
Earl said, "The reason I got out of the order to go to Tokyo was my bride wrote to General Eisenhower and told him that I spent the three years in service and was there any chance I'd stay in the states and he answered the letter, his chief of staff did, and told us he was interested and reassigned me to Fort Bragg and I spent the rest of my tour there."
At their anniversary party Wednesday, the couple cut and ate the cake they didn't have the day they took their vows seven decades ago.
"To me she's still the young girl that I married," said Earl.
When it comes to his secret for a successful 70-year marriage, Earl said to laugh. He added, "Never go to bed mad and for husbands I like to say a good way to get along in a marriage is to say two little words: yes dear."