97-year-old American WWII vet reunites with Italians he saved as children

shockedcanadian

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Aug 6, 2012
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A heartwarming story. Glad they all lived long enough to reconnect.

The memory can keep unfinished business stored away, sometimes you just need to find closure. The mother in this story did what mothers do.


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 — now octogenarians themselves — in person for the first time since the war.

Adler held out his hand to grasp those of Bruno, Mafalda and Giuliana Naldi for the joyful reunion at Bologna's 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.

"Look at my smile,’’ Adler said of the long-awaited in-person reunion, made possible by the reach of social media.
 
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. 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.

"The mother, Mamma, came out and stood right in front of my gun to stop me (from) shooting,’’ Adler recalled. "She put her stomach right against my gun, yelling, ‘Bambinis! Bambinis! Bambinis!’ pounding my chest,'' Adler recalled.



So it seems the only thing the soldier did to save those children is not to shoot them
 
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. 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.

"The mother, Mamma, came out and stood right in front of my gun to stop me (from) shooting,’’ Adler recalled. "She put her stomach right against my gun, yelling, ‘Bambinis! Bambinis! Bambinis!’ pounding my chest,'' Adler recalled.



So it seems the only thing the soldier did to save those children is not to shoot them

I'm sure all of them had their own horrible experiences during the war. The children might not have understood the concept of war, but they would have understood the emotions of their parents, the different climate at school.

The U.S soldiers would have seen death and fear first hand. Now they had a small dose of celebration. There is a reason that one of the children remembered the event and the soldier kept the photo with him.

The decision they might have made would have altered many lives. During a time of intense fear and uncertainty, I imagine they were in a "shoot first, ask questions later" type of mindset.
 
rightwinger you HATE America and American heroes !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

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