WWII veteran reunited with Italian children he saved in 1944

Martin Adler, a 97-year-old American World War II veteran, flew from Florida to Italy on Monday for an emotional reunion with three people he is credited with saving as the Nazis retreated in 1944.

Bruno, Mafalda and Giuliana Naldi, now in their eighties, were aged between 3 and 6 when their mother hid them in a basket as soldiers approached. Adler nearly opened fire on the basket, thinking a German soldier was hiding inside, before their mother stopped him.

Adler had kept a black-and-white photo of himself with the children since the war. Using social media, Adler’s daughter helped him find them.