‘Doesn’t seem possible’ | He was drafted on his wedding day. Now, he’s celebrating his 75th anniversary
Darrel and Irene Doran are moving into a retirement community soon. But they've been through turbulent times before. On their wedding day
By Keith BieryGolick
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SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WCPO) — Irene Doran is walking through her home — a home she’s moving out of in a few days.
“As you can see, this is a mess,” Doran said.
She’s lived here with her husband since they came to the Tri-State 65 years ago.
“It’s hard to leave,” Doran said. “But it’s time.”
She walks out into the garden and takes a deep breath.
“We’re just fortunate we’ve been able to stay this long.”
Fortunate because she just celebrated her 75th anniversary.
“It just doesn’t seem possible,” she said.
Mostly because of how it started.
On their wedding day, her soon-to-be husband, Darrel, received a draft notice to serve in the Korean War. He didn’t tell her right away. Eventually, he was deferred long enough to go on a honeymoon.
But after that, Darrel spent 8.5 months overseas, often thinking about Irene.
“You cry sometimes,” Darrel said. “You actually cry, because you think you may never see her again.”
Now 98, he cries again while telling me this. Because he remembers the hard times. How cold it got in the winter. The gunfire he exchanged during an ambush. And then he laughs, telling me his favorite memory. It was a phone call.
“Pack your things,” Darrel recalls a supervisor saying. “You’re going home.”
He remembers going to his wife’s home in South Dakota and then calling her work because he couldn’t find a key to get inside.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Irene said. “It was so exciting.”
The couple eventually moved to Springfield Township, where Darrel got a job as an accountant at General Electric. They’ve lived in the same house ever since. Something that in the decades to come became too much for them to manage.
Because Darrel has lost much of his eyesight, and his time in the Army impacted his hearing. He laughs about it, calling himself names. His wife leans her head on his shoulder.
“You’re still worth it,” Irene said.
So while she’s sad about their move to a retirement community, and what it could ultimately mean, she’s grateful to be doing it together.
“Stand up,” Irene said. “I want my hug.”
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