WWII veteran reunites with Italians he saved as children

By Charlene Pele | Associated Press

BOLOGNA, Italy — For much than 7 decades, Martin Adler treasured a black-and-white photograph of himself arsenic a young American worker with a wide grin with 3 impeccably dressed Italian children helium is credited with redeeming arsenic the Nazis retreated northward successful 1944.

On Monday, the 97-year-old World War II seasoned met the 3 siblings — present octogenarians themselves — successful idiosyncratic for the archetypal clip since the war.

Adler held retired his manus to grasp those of Bruno, Mafalda and Giuliana Naldi for the joyful reunion astatine Bologna’s airdrome aft a 20-hour travel from Boca Raton, Florida. Then, conscionable arsenic helium did arsenic a 20-year-old worker successful their colony of Monterenzio, helium handed retired bars of American chocolate.

“Look astatine my smile,” Adler said of the long-awaited in-person reunion, made imaginable by the scope of societal media.

It was a blessed ending to a communicative that could easy person been a tragedy.

The precise archetypal clip the worker and the children saw each other, successful 1944, the 3 faces peeked retired of a immense wicker handbasket wherever their parent had hidden them arsenic soldiers approached. Adler thought the location was empty, truthful helium trained his instrumentality weapon connected the handbasket erstwhile helium heard a sound, reasoning a German worker was hiding inside.

“The mother, Mamma, came retired and stood close successful beforehand of my weapon to halt maine (from) shooting,” Adler recalled. “She enactment her tummy close against my gun, yelling, ‘Bambinis! Bambinis! Bambinis!’ pounding my chest,” Adler recalled.

“That was a existent hero, the mother, not me. The parent was a existent hero. Can you ideate you lasting yourself successful beforehand of a weapon and screaming ‘Children! No!’” helium said.

Adler inactive trembles erstwhile helium remembers that helium was lone seconds distant from opening occurrence connected the basket. And aft each these decades, helium inactive suffers nightmares from the war, said his daughter, Rachelle Donley.

The children, aged 3 to 6 erstwhile they met, were a blessed memory. His institution stayed connected successful the colony for a portion and helium would travel by and play with them.

Giuliana Naldi, the youngest, is the lone 1 of the 3 with immoderate recollection of the event. She recalls climbing retired of the handbasket and seeing Adler and different U.S. soldier, who has since died.

“They were laughing,” Naldi, present 80, remembers. “They were blessed they didn’t shoot.”

She, connected the different hand, didn’t rather comprehend the adjacent call.

“We weren’t acrophobic for anything,” she said.

She besides remembers the soldier’s chocolate, which came successful a blue-and-white wrapper.

“We ate truthful overmuch of that chocolate,” she laughed.

Donley decided during the COVID-19 lockdown to usage societal media to effort to way down the children successful the aged black-and-white photo, starting with veterans’ groups successful North America.

Eventually the photograph was spotted by an Italian writer who had written a publication connected World War II. He was capable to way down Adler’s regiment and wherever it had been stationed from a tiny item successful different photograph. The smiling photograph was past published successful a section newspaper, starring to the find of the identities of the 3 children, who by past were grandparents themselves.

They shared a video reunion successful December, and waited until the easing of pandemic question rules made the trans-Atlantic travel possible.

“I americium truthful blessed and truthful arrogant of him. Because things could person been truthful antithetic successful conscionable a second. Because helium hesitated, determination person been generations of people,” Donley said.

The serendipity isn’t mislaid connected Giuliana Naldi’s 30-year-old granddaughter, Roberta Fontana, 1 of six children, 8 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren who descended from the 3 children hidden successful the wicker basket.

“Knowing that Martin could person changeable and that nary of my household would beryllium is thing precise big,” Fontana said. “It is precise emotional.”

During his enactment successful Italy, Adler volition walk immoderate clip successful the colony wherever helium was stationed, earlier traveling connected to Florence, Naples and Rome, wherever helium hopes to conscionable Pope Francis.

“My dada truly wants to conscionable the pope,” Donley said. “He wants to stock his connection of bid and love. My dada is each astir peace.”

Colleen Barry contributed from Milan.