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For better or for worse, Facebook has a knack for bringing people together decades after they've lost touch. Most reunions lead to a few "Hey how are you, cute family!" wall posts, but every now and then, one results in a bona fide fairy-tale romance.

That's what happened for Jaime Benefit, 32, and Jeremy Clayton, 38, of Charleston, S.C., who first started writing to each other while Clayton was serving in Desert Storm 19 years ago.

Pen Pals
When she was 13 years old and growing up in Ohio, Benefit had penned a letter to "Any Soldier" after her mom saw a newspaper ad about supporting the troops.

Clayton, a 19-year-old South Carolina native serving with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, plucked Benefit's letter from the bunch because she'd used green ink and he liked the way she spelled her name. The two kept writing to each other until the war ended, supporting each other and becoming confidants.

Benefit rediscovered the letters while her parents were remodeling her old room. "We wrote about sports, our home towns, music and general-interest things," Benefit said in an interview with Lemondrop. "I just re-read them for the first time and they are so cute!"

Click here to read the rest after the jump.

Shock and Awwww ...
After scanning through them, Jaime became curious about what had happened to her friend from around the world. She contacted the Department of Defense for information on Clayton, but they had none. Earlier this year, she searched Facebook. Despite there being a sea of Jeremy Claytons registered on the site, she found the right one and sent him a message.

He was happy she'd found him, and the two planned to meet in March. Once they did, their platonic affection from years ago blossomed into a bond much more intense.

"It was definitely love at first sight," Benefit said of the meeting. "You just know."

Shortly after meeting, Clayton proposed. The pair got married July 15 on the beach in Charleston. Even though their romance happened quickly, Benefit (who moved from Ohio to South Carolina) said their families were "very excited" for them.

"The Same, Just Older"
Clayton, who retired from the military, is the manager of Gary's Paint and Body shop, and Benefit works in sales. They still do what brought them together in the first place -- write each other notes.

"I think we're just the grown-up versions of ourselves," Benefit said. "Pretty much the same, just older. We are larger than life to each other."

On the fact that she found her soul mate using Facebook, she said it's "a very personal decision and each situation is different. But if you want to reach out to someone, there is no better time than the present."

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