Bernadette said they were engaged before they reached Colombia, after they completed their corps training. They were married in Ibagué in Colombia and Bernadette said many Peace Corps volunteers came to the wedding. David said they married there because they realized it was the right time for them. His brother, a Roman Catholic priest at the time, came down to marry them in Ibagué. "It was an amazing event," she said. David said their wedding even spawned its own myth. He said they were at a cocktail party in Washington, D.C. when they overheard someone talking about the story of a Peace Corps volunteer who married a Columbian woman and more than 100,000 people attended their wedding. "I realized they were talking about our wedding," he said. "It was larger than life."
David and Bernadette Miron met and married as Peace Corps volunteers in Colombia in 1960s
A Peace Corps Love Story
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Peace Corps, three Ponte Vedra couples celebrate Valentine's Day remembering how they first met.
By Sara Kaufman | Feb. 10, 2011 | 1 comment
[Excerpt]
David and Bernadette Miron
David and Bernadette Miron met while they both attended St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia. Bernadette Miron said they were both interested in volunteer work in other countries. She said they were considering volunteering with a Catholic relief group when President Kennedy made his famous inaugural address.
"We both got excited," she said. "Initially, we were going to go to two different countries. I was going to Guatemala." Bernadette said they decided to go to the same country, and with a little help were placed together in Colombia from 1963 to 1965 as part of an educational television program. They worked in different parts of the country, and Bernadette said they didn't see each other very often.
"Since we weren't married [yet], they didn't take into account putting us together," said David Miron.
But the distance didn't dampen their love story. Bernadette said they were engaged before they reached Colombia, after they completed their corps training. They were married in Ibagué in Colombia and Bernadette said many Peace Corps volunteers came to the wedding. David said they married there because they realized it was the right time for them. His brother, a Roman Catholic priest at the time, came down to marry them in Ibagué.
"When we left the church, people threw rice at us," said Bernadette, referring to the tradition of throwing rice as a way to wish the bride and groom a lifetime full of blessings.
"Our photographer took a photo of a [Colombian] woman who was scooping up all the rice into a basket. I still have that photo hanging."
She said that image brought home to her the idea that we don't really understand all that we have.
"It was an amazing event," she said.
David said their wedding even spawned its own myth. He said they were at a cocktail party in Washington, D.C. when they overheard someone talking about the story of a Peace Corps volunteer who married a Columbian woman and more than 100,000 people attended their wedding.
"I realized they were talking about our wedding," he said. "It was larger than life."
The Miron's are still in contact with friends they made during their time in the corps.
"It has been the most fantastic experience of my life," said Bernadette Miron. "It broadened my horizons. It introduced me to another culture. My experience in Columbia did more for me than I did for Columbia [with my work]."
