海角大神

Children, saved by mother's love, reunite with US WWII veteran

Over seven decades ago, WWII soldier Martin Adler didn鈥檛 shoot. An Italian mother of three had placed herself between the soldier鈥檚 gun and her children. On Monday, that veteran returned to meet the children 鈥� now grandparents themselves 鈥� who were saved. 

First Look

For more than seven decades, Martin Adler treasured a black-and-white photo of himself as a young American soldier with a broad smile with three impeccably dressed Italian children he is credited with saving as the Nazis retreated northward in 1944.

On Monday, the 97-year-old World War II veteran met the three siblings 鈥撀爊ow octogenarians themselves 鈥撀爄n person for the first time since the war.

Mr. Adler held out his hand to grasp those of Bruno, Mafalda, and Giuliana Naldi for the joyful reunion at Bologna鈥檚 airport after a 20-hour journey from Boca Raton, Florida. Then, just as he did as a 20-year-old soldier in their village of Monterenzio, he handed out bars of American chocolate.

鈥淟ook at my smile,鈥欌�� Mr. Adler said of the long-awaited in-person reunion, made possible by the reach of social media.

It was a happy ending to a story that could easily have been a tragedy.

The very first time the soldier and the children saw each other, in 1944, the three faces peeked out of a huge wicker basket where their mother had hidden them as soldiers approached. Mr. Adler thought the house was empty, so he trained his machine gun on the basket when he heard a sound, thinking a German soldier was hiding inside.

鈥淭he mother, Mamma, came out and stood right in front of my gun to stop me [from] shooting,鈥欌�� Mr. Adler recalled. 鈥淪he put her stomach right against my gun, yelling, 鈥楤ambinis! Bambinis! Bambinis!鈥� pounding my chest,鈥欌�� Mr. Adler recalled.

鈥淭hat was a real hero, the mother, not me. The mother was a real hero. Can you imagine you standing yourself in front of a gun and screaming 鈥楥hildren! No!鈥欌�� he said.

Mr. Adler still trembles when he remembers that he was only seconds away from opening fire on the basket. And after all these decades, he still suffers nightmares from the war, said his daughter, Rachelle Donley.

The children, aged 3 to 6 when they met, were a happy memory. His company stayed on in the village for a while and he would come by and play with them.

Giuliana Naldi, the youngest, is the only one of the three with any recollection of the event. She recalls climbing out of the basket and seeing Mr. Adler and another U.S. soldier, who has since died.

鈥淭hey were laughing,鈥欌�� Ms. Naldi, now 80, remembers. 鈥淭hey were happy they didn鈥檛 shoot.鈥�

She, on the other hand, didn鈥檛 quite comprehend the close call.

鈥淲e weren鈥檛 afraid for anything,鈥欌�� she said.

She also remembers the soldier鈥檚 chocolate, which came in a blue-and-white wrapper.

鈥淲e ate so much of that chocolate,鈥欌�� she laughed.

Ms. Donley decided during the COVID-19 lockdown to use social media to try to track down the children in the old black-and-white photo, starting with veterans鈥� groups in North America.

Eventually the photo was spotted by Italian journalist Matteo Incerti who had written books on World War II. He was able to track down Mr. Adler鈥檚 regiment and where it had been stationed from a small detail in another photograph. The smiling photo was then published in a local newspaper, leading to the discovery of the identities of the three children, who by then were grandparents themselves.

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

鈥淚 am so happy and so proud of him. Because things could have been so different in just a second. Because he hesitated, there have been generations of people,鈥欌�� Ms. Donley said.

The serendipity isn鈥檛 lost on Giuliana Naldi鈥檚 granddaughter, Roberta Fontana, one of six children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren who descended from the three children hidden in the wicker basket.

鈥淜nowing that Martin could have shot and that none of my family would exist is something very big,鈥� Ms. Fontana said. 鈥淚t is very emotional.鈥�

During his stay in Italy, Mr. Adler will spend some time in the village where he was stationed, before traveling on to Florence, Naples, and Rome, where he hopes to meet Pope Francis.

鈥淢y dad really wants to meet the pope,鈥� Ms. Donley said. 鈥淗e wants to share his message of peace and love. My dad is all about peace.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽Colleen Barry contributed to this report from Milan.