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For more than seven decades, Martin Adler darling a black and white photo in which he appeared as a young American soldier with a broad smile next to three italian children The immaculately dressed people he rescued during the Nazi retreat north in 1944.
Monday, the WWII veteran, 97 years, met the three brothers – now in their 80s – in person for the first time since the war.
Adler reached out to take those from Bruno, Mafalda and Giuliana Naldi during a happy reunion at Bologna airport, after a 20 hour trip from Boca Raton (Florida). So, as he did when he was a 20-year-old soldier in the village of Monterenzio, distributed American chocolate bars.
“Look at my smile,” Adler said of the long-awaited reunion made possible by the power of social media.
Martin Adler on his arrival in Italy for the reunion with Giulio, Mafalda and Giuliana Naldi. Photo: AP
It was a happy ending to a story that could easily have ended in tragedy.
Hidden in a basket
The first time the soldier and the boys saw each other, in 1944, their three faces peeked out of a huge wicker basket where their mother had hidden them as the soldiers approached. Adler believed the house was empty, so he pointed his machine gun at the cart when he heard a noise, thinking that a German soldier was hiding inside.
“The mother, Mom, came out and stood in front of my gun to prevent him from firing,” Adler recalls. “He put his stomach against the gun and shouted: ‘Children! Children! Children! ‘ while hitting my chest, ”recalls Adler.
“She was a real heroine, the mother, not me. The mother was the real heroine. Can you imagine what it is like to stand in front of a gun and yell ‘Boys! No!’ ? ” noted.
Adler shuddered again as he remembered that he had come a few seconds after he opened fire on the basket. And after all these decades he still has nightmares about the warsaid his daughter, Rachelle Donley.
Martin Adler poses with Giulio (left), Mafalda (right) and Giuliana Nald. Photo: AP
The children, who were between 3 and 6 years old when they met, were a happy memory. Adler’s company stayed in town for a while and he visited them to play with them.
Giuliana Naldi, the smallest, She is the only one of the three to remember the fact. He remembers getting out of the basket and seeing Adler and another American soldier, who had already died.
“They laughed,” recalls Naldi, now 80. “They were glad they didn’t shoot.”
Giuliana Naldi, the youngest, is the only one of the three to remember the event. Photo: AP
She, on the other hand, didn’t quite understand how close they were to danger.
“We weren’t afraid of anything,” he says.
He also remembers the chocolate the soldier gave them, which came in blue and white packaging.
“We ate a lot of this chocolate,” he laughed.
The place where the four took this photo. Photo: AP
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Donley decided to use social media to try to locate the children of the old black and white photo, starting with groups of North American veterans.
Eventually, the photo was discovered by Italian journalist Matteo Incerti, who had written books on WWII. He was able to track down Adler’s regiment and find out where it was stationed from a small detail in another photo.
The smiling photo was then published in a local newspaper, which revealed the identities of the three children, who by then they were already grandparents.
Handshake from Martin Adler and Giuliana Naldi. Photo: AP
They had a videoconference in December and waited for the relaxation of travel restrictions due to the pandemic to make transatlantic flight possible.
“I’m very happy and very proud of him. Because things could have been so different in a second. Thanks to him for hesitating, there have been generations of peopleDonley said.
The luck of what happened does not escape Giuliana Naldi’s 30-year-old granddaughter, Roberta Fontana, who is part of a family of six children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. descendants of the three boys hidden in the wicker basket.
Martin Adler in front of the house where he found the boys. Photo: AP
“Knowing that Martin could have shot and that no one in my family would exist is very shocking,” Fontana said. “It is very moving.”
During his stay in Italy, Adler will spend time in the city where he was stationed, before traveling to Florence, Naples and Rome, where hope to meet the dad Francisco.
“My father is looking forward to meeting the Pope,” Donley said. “He wants to share his message of peace and love. My father is all at peace.”
By Charlene Pele, Associated Press
Translation: Elisa Carnelli
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