By Charlene Pele - The Associated Press
For more than seven decades, Martin Adler kept a black and white photo of himself as a smiling young American soldier alongside three impeccably dressed Italian children, credited with saving as the Nazis retreated north in 1944. .
The 97-year-old WWII veteran met these three brothers - now in their 80s - in person on Monday for the first time since the war.
Adler reached out to grab those of Bruno, Mafalda and Giuliana Naldi during the emotional reunion at the Bologna airport, after a 20-hour drive from Boca Raton, Florida.
Just like he did when he was a 20-year-old soldier in his town of Monterenzio, he gave them American chocolate bars.
World War II veteran Martin Adler, with the three Italians he saved in 1944 during their meeting at Bologna airport Antonio Calanni / AP
"Look at my smile," Adler said of the long-awaited reunion, which was made possible by the reach of social media.
This is a happy ending to a story that could easily have ended in tragedy.
The first time they saw each other, in 1944, the three young faces peered out from a huge wicker basket where their mother had hidden them as the soldiers approached.
Adler thought the house was empty, so he pointed his machine gun at the basket when he heard a noise, thinking that a German soldier was hiding inside.
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"The mother,
mamma
, came out and stood right in front of my gun to stop it from firing," Adler recalled.
“He put his stomach against my gun, yelling, 'Bambinis!
Bambinis!
Bambinis! ', Pounding my chest, "Adler continued.
"That was a real hero, the mother, not me. The mother was a real hero. Can you imagine standing in front of a gun and yelling 'Boys! No!" He explained.
Adler still flinches when he remembers coming within seconds of opening fire on the basket.
And after the passage of more than seven decades, he still suffers from nightmares of war, said his daughter, Rachelle Donley.
The children, who were between 3 and 6 years old when they met, have always been a happy memory.
His detachment stayed in town for a while and he came to play with them.
Martin Adler receives a kiss from Mafalda and Giuliana NaldiAntonio Calanni / AP
Giuliana Naldi, the youngest, is the only one of the three who remembers the event.
He got out of the basket and saw Adler and another American soldier, now deceased.
"They were laughing. They were glad they didn't shoot," said Naldi, who is now 80 years old.
She, on the other hand, did not fully understand what was happening: "We were not afraid."
It also recalls the soldiers' chocolate, which came in a blue and white wrapper.
"We ate a lot of that chocolate," he laughed.
Donley decided, during the confinement imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, to use social networks to try to locate the children in the black and white photo, starting with the veteran groups.
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The image was discovered by the Italian journalist Matteo Incerti, who had written books on World War II.
He tracked down Adler's regiment and where it was stationed from a small detail in another photograph.
The black and white photo kept by the war veteran was then published in a local newspaper, revealing the identity of the three children, who were by then grandparents.
They shared their reunion in December via video call and waited for travel regulations to be relaxed.
War veteran Martin Adler, 97, holds the hand of Giuliana NaldiAntonio Calanni / AP
"I'm very happy and very proud of him. Because things could have been so different in a second. Because of him hesitating, generations of people have been born," Donley said.
This chance encounter is of great value to Giuliana Naldi's granddaughter, Roberta Fontana, 30.
He is one of the six children, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who are descended from the three children hidden in the wicker basket.
"Knowing that Martin could have shot and that no one in my family would exist is something very big. It is very emotional," said Fontana.
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During his stay in Italy, Adler will spend time in the town where he was stationed, before traveling to Florence, Naples and Rome, where he hopes to meet Pope Francis.
"My father is looking forward to meeting the Pope [Francis]," Donley said. "He wants to share his message of peace and love. My father is all peace," he said.
