Former US marine finds sweetheart of 43 years ago

Patrick Hyland's shot in the dark to track down the woman he fell in love with almost half a century ago worked and the former marine is as nervous as a guy on his first date.

His appeal in The Times proved to be extremely timely for, although the woman lives abroad, she happened to be on the island because of her husband's business connections.

The Maltese woman made herself known to The Times but preferred to remain anonymous. When Mr Hyland was informed that she had turned up he was overjoyed.

"My feet aren't touching the floor. I just want to laugh, cry, dance and jump up in the air. I know it sounds crazy but I haven't been this excited in a long time," he said.

His search began about three months ago when his wife passed away. It was her wish that he looked up his former girlfriend.

"About three years ago, my wife and I were reading in bed when she tapped me on the shoulder and asked what I would do if she passed away before me. I told her I would probably remain single but she insisted I should look for my former girlfriend and marry her."

He was pragmatic about his search and had made it clear from the outset that, should he find her, he did not want to complicate her life. "She might be married with children. I would only like to carry on being friends."

They have now both exchanged their telephone numbers and are catching up on each other's lives since they last met but there are no defined plans to meet.

Before launching the appeal in The Times, Mr Hyland contacted several families having the same surname as her but none of them were related. Reminiscing about how they met, he smiled as he said how it all started with a sly pick-up line when he was stationed on board a military cargo ship that called regularly at Grand Harbour.

He was walking along the harbour with a friend when they noticed three young women walking towards them; one was destined to become his sweetheart.

"I walked over to them and politely asked whether they knew where an address I made up was. They asked each other but, obviously, they had no clue where it was. We quickly admitted there was no such address and offered them a drink instead."

They spent hours chatting at a nearby coffee shop and Mr Hyland took the opportunity to ask her to be his guide of the island the next day - he was smitten by her looks and personality.

It was love at first sight and they spent as much time as they could together, even if this meant he had to break military regulations, such as going around in civilian clothes.

"I didn't use to believe in love at first sight but with this lady there was chemistry and electricity and personality."

Eventually, Mr Hyland returned to the US, where after exchanging love letters for a year, they lost contact.

"I've kicked myself so many times for not returning as soon as I left the army. I'm not a home wrecker and I'm sure she is very happy with her life. That's all that's important to me and I'm just happy she's still alive and well."

kbugeja@timesofmalta.com