Originally published 2022-06-19.
Duane Mann, a 91-year-old Korean War veteran from Woodbine, Iowa, spent nearly 70 years wondering what had happened to Peggy Yamaguchi, the young woman he loved while serving with the US Navy in Yokosuka, Japan. In May 2022, a few weeks after a local TV report about his search, the two met again in Escanaba, Michigan, where Peggy had lived for most of her life, only a few states away from him.
The reunion was short, warm and full of laughter. It was also the end of a misunderstanding that had shaped how Duane saw himself for decades.
A wartime romance in Yokosuka
Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, has been home to a major US naval base since shortly after the Second World War. During the Korean War years, thousands of American sailors passed through it. Duane, then in his early twenties, met Peggy there and they were together for more than a year. Earlier retellings put their meeting in 1953; Duane was around 22 and still in Japan in 1954.
Relationships between American servicemen and Japanese women were common in those years, but they faced real obstacles. US immigration law had only recently begun to allow Japanese spouses to enter the country, and many families back home were openly hostile to such marriages. Thousands of "war brides" did make the journey, often to small American towns where they were among very few Asian residents.
How they lost each other
When Duane received orders to return to the United States, he promised to send for Peggy. According to his account, that plan fell apart at home. His father had run into money trouble and spent the savings Duane had put aside to bring Peggy over. Peggy's letters stopped reaching him, and he later learned that his mother had destroyed them because she did not want her son to marry a Japanese woman.
Reporting on the reunion added that Peggy had been pregnant when Duane left and later lost the baby. Her last letter told him that, and that she had married someone else. Duane was left believing she must have felt abandoned by him. These details come from the family accounts given to reporters, and they are told here as the two families shared them.
Peggy married an American Navy sailor in 1955 and moved with him to Escanaba, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where they raised three sons. Duane built his own life in Iowa, but he kept photos of Peggy in his wallet for 70 years, moving them from billfold to billfold.
A TV report and a young researcher
In early May 2022, KETV NewsWatch 7 in Omaha aired a story by reporter Michelle Bandur about Duane's search, with support from his son Brian. The story spread widely, including in Japan, and viewers sent in tips, obituaries and photos.
One of the people who saw it online was Theresa Wong, a 23-year-old researcher from Vancouver, Canada, who worked for the History Channel. She found a 1956 article in Escanaba's local newspaper, the Daily Press, about a bride from Tokyo making a new life in town. It gave Peggy's married name, Sedenquist, and pointed towards an address in the Upper Peninsula.
About nine days after the story aired, the reporter reached Peggy's eldest son, Rich Sedenquist. He was cautious at first, but he showed his mother a video clip. She recognised Duane at once. Her sons later recalled her saying, "I remember him! He really loved me, you know."
The reunion in Escanaba
Duane and Peggy, both 91, met in a conference room at the Island Resort and Casino outside Escanaba. They hugged, kissed, laughed and talked about Yokosuka. Peggy said she was stunned to learn he had been looking for her for seven decades.
Duane finally got to say what he had carried all his life: "I didn't abandon you at all. I just couldn't find you." Peggy thanked him for remembering her and for keeping the photographs.
There was one more surprise. Peggy's youngest son, Mike, has Duane as his middle name.
Why this reunion moved so many people
The story is not about rekindling a romance. Both Duane and Peggy had full lives, families and marriages after Japan. What made the meeting powerful was something simpler: the chance to correct the record. For decades Duane believed Peggy thought he had walked away. Hearing that she remembered him fondly, and telling her face to face what really happened, gave both of them a sense of peace.
It is also a reminder of how fragile communication was before email and phones. A few intercepted letters were enough to separate two people for a lifetime, while they lived about 650 miles apart.
If you are searching for someone from your past
Duane's search succeeded thanks to publicity and careful research. A few approaches that often help:
- Check old local newspapers. Digitised archives often record marriages, arrivals and community news, as the 1956 Daily Press article did here.
- Look at public records. Marriage records, obituaries and census data can reveal married names and family members.
- Ask veterans' and community groups. Reunion associations and local historical societies often keep contacts and records.
- Be gentle when you make contact. Approach family members first and give the person time and room to decide whether they want to reconnect.
Duane and Peggy said they hoped to keep in touch. Whatever came next, they got the conversation they had waited 70 years to have.
Sources: KRDO (from KETV reporting), June 2022: 70-year journey to find lost love ends with reunion for Korean War veteran; KETV NewsWatch 7 on YouTube, June 2022: Iowa Korean War veteran's 70-year journey to find lost love ends with reunion; earlier retelling by Positive Outlooks.
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