97-year-old veteran meets three kids he saved in Italy in 1944
Private First Class Martin Adler was only 20-years-old when he was stationed in Italy in 1944. And when he saw movement under a blanket he knew he had a call to make.
He saw movement under some blankets and aimed, ready to fire.
But something made him hesitate.
Just then, an Italian woman ran out.
Adler recalls, “Mama came out screaming, ‘Bambini, bambini!’ using the Italian word for children.’ And she stood in front of my gun, preventing me from [shooting].'”
Slowly, a trio of nervous children, (Bruno, Mafalda, and Giuliana) emerged from underneath the blanket. Adler then tried to calm them by offering them chocolates, which they gladly accepted.
Adler was so grateful that he didn’t kill the children that he started to cry. At that moment, Adler decided to snap a photo with the young children.
He was able to reunite with the children all these 77 years later, and he even brought them the same type of chocolates he had given them that fateful day.
Adler’s daughter Rachel decided to try and cheer up her father during the COVID lockdown, so she tracked down the three children and set the entire reunion up.
The reunion took place in Bologna, Italy where he was accompanied by his wife and some of his own children.
The three Italian children he saved, Bruno, Mafalda, and Giuliana are now in their late seventies and early eighties.
According to his daughter, “‘He just lit up, just seeing the kids. It means everything to him.'”
The reunion was a very joyous occasion and the kids he saved were extremely grateful.
