WWII Vet Flies to Australia to Reunite With British Wartime Girlfriend

In this Nov. 6, 2015 file photo, Norwood Thomas, holds up a photo of with Joyce Morris at his home in Virginia Beach, Va. Thomas is embarking on a 10,500-mile journey to Australia to visit Morris. She was the 93-year-old World War II veteran's wartime girlfriend. (Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot via AP) MAGS OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A 93-year-old World War II veteran is embarking on a 10,500-mile journey to Australia to visit his wartime girlfriend after more than 70 years apart.

It will take Norwood Thomas, who boarded a plane Sunday from Norfolk with his son, two days to reach the country, where he will be reunited with Joyce Morris, The Virginian-Pilot (http://bit.ly/1L8P3l0) reported.

“I‘d rather die traveling to Australia than live sitting around at home wondering, ’What if?'” Thomas said.

News media around the globe have printed or broadcast the story, which has gone viral online.

“It’s the craziest thing,” Thomas said. “I can’t believe how interested all these people are.”

The two first met in London shortly before D-Day. Morris was a 17-year-old British girl, whom Thomas remembers as a “pretty little thing,” and he was a 21-year-old paratrooper with the 101st Airborne.

In this photo taken Nov. 6, 2015, Norwood Thomas, 93, talks with Joyce Morris via Skype from his home in Virginia Beach, Va. During World War II, Morris lived in England and was Joyce Durrant, the girlfriend of Thomas, a D-Day paratrooper with the Army's 101st Airborne Division. Morris now lives in Australia. Bill Tiernan/The Virginian-Pilot via AP