This 89-year-old Purple Heart vet found love in Myrtle Beach and is set to tie the knot

An 89-year-old Purple Heart recipient found love in Myrtle Beach, and it all started with a game of golf.

Ed Leguillon was living in Cincinnati, but vacationing on the Grand Strand, when he met Alice Rabin through a mutual friend he was playing golf with.

The friend described Leguillon as a very nice older man. So Rabin, 87, asked her friend to bring him to the local Moose Lodge.

Leguillon reportedly danced with many women that night, but it was Rabin who caught his eye. Now, on Nov. 17, the couple is getting married at the Landmark Resort in Myrtle Beach.

“We want to be married for the rest of our lives,” Rabin said.

The Korean War

Leguillon served in the Korean War, joining the Army in 1951 and leaving in 1953.

As a Private First Class, his job was to drive gasoline to vehicles and equipment operating near the front lines. While not explicitly a combat role, Leguillon found himself under close enemy fire. He was hit by an enemy round, as were others in his unit. For his service to the United States, he was the recipient of the Purple Heart, one the of the most prestigious awards given to an American service member.

Taking care of military veterans is a cause close to the couple’s heart. Leguillon’s family volunteers to help homeless vets in Cincinnati by bringing baked goods. Rabin said more needs to be done to keep those who served our country off the street, especially around Veterans Day.

“There are a lot of people living under bridges, and a lot of them are veterans,” Rabin said.

Their love story

Leguillon began vacationing in Myrtle Beach over 20 years ago with his late wife. When she passed away, he continued to come to the Grand Strand.

Rabin, 85 and legally blind, also vacationed on the Grand Stand with her late husband before moving here 24 years ago from New Jersey. The business she was working for closed her branch, so she told her husband that they were moving to Myrtle Beach.

Once they started dating, it wasn’t long before Legullion decided in his late eighties to uproot his life in Cincinnati and move to Murrells Inlet.

“When you fall in love, you don’t know what you’re doing,” Leguillon said about moving to South Carolina.

The couple enjoys singing and dancing with each other. Leguillon said that dancing is something he has just picked up, but enjoyed singing as a teenager, while doing vocals is one of Rabin’s passions. Their wedding is going to feature karaoke, something Rabin loves doing. Rabin said she is famous in Paris for her rendition of “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Come Home” by Ella Fitzgerald.

Rabin said that her favorite thing about Leguillon is that he tells her “I love you” often throughout the day. Leguillon loves that Rabin is honest with him, which for them is a key to a successful marriage.

The next month will be busy for them. Their wedding will be Nov. 17, then they will have a second party in Ohio to celebrate with family, and soon after Leguillon will turn 90 on Nov. 29. With the holiday season in the mix, the end of 2018 will be an eventful one for the newlyweds.

Despite the hectic month ahead, the couple looks forward to settling down in their Murrells Inlet home and living out the rest of their lives together.

“To me, this is paradise,” Rabin said.

This story was originally published November 9, 2018 at 10:04 AM.