US WWII veteran reunites with Italians he saved as children

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.
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[@Jigsaw0g]

The amount of stories like this hidden within this period of time is unimaginable. And the sad part is, there are only so many WW2 vets left.

[@stan4now]

It is sad, especially when we've hardly shown our appreciation or done more to get Congress and the VA to take better care of them. I know this from having worked with disabled combat veterans.

[@JM-db8ez]

Sad part? WW2 ended nearly 80 years ago, how long do you want these guys to live?

[@Jigsaw0g]

@@JM-db8ez your ignorance is shining. Anyone with an IQ above 1 knows I mean it’s sad we won’t get to hear anymore stories after a certain point. It’ll be lost history. Maybe grow a brain in that head of yours before making idiotic statements like that

[@vvoof2601]

@@JM-db8ez That's not the point though.

[@Gala-yp8nx]

If there were more of them still with us then certain political movements wouldn’t be happening right now.

[@bakabaka6565]

Now he has unfortunately passed away. In Italy we love him. Great memories for this fantastic heroe that came to save us from the darkness

[@shawnp6744]

He has not passed away. He has went on to a new assignment. A man lives as long as their story lives. Mr. Adlers story is forever.

[@luchyie4178]

Came to save you. . . by killing you? Never understood this "liberation" B.S. Bombs dropped on homes, civilians, etc. Italy and Germany were not liberated, rather killed and occupied.

[@BathSaltShaman]

​@@shawnp6744 Masterfully put

[@tomhome6414]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@ray24051]

@@shawnp6744 old soldiers never die he was just reassigned to heaven.

[@MateoSolis96]

Bruh man really went rrrrrrrrrrrrr… what a legend

[@WolframZart]

yeah what a legend...you people are everything that is wrong with this earth...

[@Nikepedia]

The locals used to know him as Rrrrrr.

[@tggorudon2551]

​@@NikepediaHe used to get all the ladies with his Rrrrr

[@Noobie_3]

He is the Thompson

[@wolfyklip]

ttttttttttttttt. ddddddddddd.

[@lgarcia67]

My dad was friends with an Italian WWII veteran. He fought the Nazis alongside American troops in the front. He and his wife were nothing but class and he was a very hard working man. He unfortunately was heavily traumatized and would go into this rage and would spend time in his house I guess waiting for it to pass. His wife would tell my mom of his horrible nightmares and how he would start screaming, hiding and throwing stuff in the middle of the night. In his nightmares he was still fighting the Nazis. RIP Pepe, a kind man with all the mental scars of that conflict

[@TheMRmatt007]

Viva la Lotta per la Liberazione! Viva i Partigiani! Viva la Libertà!

[@boh365]

✊@@TheMRmatt007

[@juju1896]

I’ve read many memoirs of war vets who had nightmares and ptsd like this. For so many people, veteran and civilian, who experience war, the war never ends internally. All the more reason we need to live in peace.

[@avalonjustin]

They gave their minds, their futures, their lives to fight evil. Legends!

[@reeselath32]

rest in peace

[@darthslackus499]

Let's not forget the courage of the Momma that placed herself in his line of fire. Even though he was an ally, you never know how a soldier will behave while under the guise of war.

[@jzabala10]

And preventing him for tratatatatatata

[@juju1896]

That momma was so damn brave for her babies!! She deserves to be honored as well. I want to know her name.

[@Kalani_Saiko]

This is what I was thinking as soon as I heard it.

[@Charison22]

God this made me laugh. Im going to hell.@@jzabala10

[@JohnDoe-tl4gm]

Yeah tbh, I didn’t really understand how he saved them? Unless he got them to safety or shelter afterwords, the only thing he did was NOT shoot them. And thats…good? I suppose?

[@yorkiepit]

My dear, departed grandfather fought in Europe during WWII, was in the Ardennes and was with one of the first units that went into Germany. What he found there was destroyed cities and starving people. In one of them, he was approached by a nearly dead young boy named Hans. My grandfather got him medical care and made sure that he and his mother got food regularly. For the rest of his life, my grandfather and Hans remained close, Hans never forgot what he had done for him and his mother.

[@bitchinbob2045]

Atta boy Gramps.

[@deletdis6173]

Beautiful story

[@MrSlanderer]

This gentleman is 97? He has a surprisingly clear mind for his age.

[@mchrysogelos7623]

I listened to a 100-yr-old? 101-yr-old who was a young lawyer at the time of the Nuremberg trials, he retold some of the stories and he didn't miss a beat, his mind was so sharp for an 'elderly'! man.

[@Russianbro777]

All of these US veterans should be respected and given attention instead of celebrities.

[@greenjosh75]

yup, celebs have done nothing good for their country or society.

[@simonemontagna7678]

are you 8 years old? that's not how any of this works at all

[@JRAnalyzes]

a nonsensical comment.

[@crazytrain03]

I was at work one day, and seen this older man come in with a WW2 veteran hat on, full of pins and ribbons. A few of them stuck out to me as a veteran...his double purple hearts and his airborne wings and the 82nd Airborne patch. I Introduced myself and thanked him for his service...then a bit of chatting. I try to talk as much as I can with anyone from WW2 that's still alive...there's so few left. By the end of that conversation, I shook that man's hand and thanked him again. He was on the beaches of Normandy before any allied forces landed. They parachuted in at night, behind the German lines, as landing scouts for the invasion and calling in fire support to the hilltops. Once the beach was secured and forces pushed in, they linked up with the main force, and pushed in to liberate Europe. That generation of men and women, is truly America's greatest generation and true heroes of the world

[@rvnmedic1968]

Same here. My Dad was a Pearl Harbor survivor and died at age 63. Every time I see an older guy with a WW2 ball cap, I stop and thank them and add that we'd be speaking German or Japanese if it wasn't for them. I get choked up just trying to tell them that.

[@pokemonfan2630]

THESE soldiers fought for us, not the government, not for corporations, for us!

[@MrPickledede]

My grandfather served in Italy with the British Army....what an amazing story!

[@navchinna]

I thank him for his service 🫡 Also, a very Merry christmas to you and your family, Mr. Pickledede!

[@MrPickledede]

@@navchinna Thank you so much and a very merry Christmas to you and your family as well!

[@iamaaronisaiah]

"God looked down on me and God looked down on Italia." ❤

[@decafmocha211]

These stories never get old...Hero

[@dodgersfan9651]

0:26 total bad ass

[@meltin9026]

Seriously. Such a dope pic.

[@deletdis6173]

Stud muffin

[@Deac0n_Blues]

Sometime it's in the darkest of times in which we see the best of humanity

[@muffs55mercury61]

Italy was a bloodbath in 1944 as the Nazis were very desperate by then and stopped at nothing to hold on (which they lost) At Anzio very few walked away without a scratch in the end (just one example) The picture of him and the kids at 1:00 just tears me up. So beautiful.

[@jettmthebluedragon]

I’m taking a vacation in Italy right now 😳I plan to make a youtube video about ww2 soon 🙂but it’s crazy to think about 80 years ago if you ware gay they killed you and Italy was a axis ally 😐now it 2023 and I see gay flags everywhere from time to Time 🙂but dam 😐it’s hard to imangne 80 years ago today I would be in a war zone 😐

[@redcardinalist]

>>The picture of him and the kids at 1:00 just tears me up. So beautiful. just as well their mother (the real hero) was there to save them eh!

[@CrossOfBayonne]

The 442nd Regiment entirely Japanese American soldiers fought there at Monte Cassino

[@muffs55mercury61]

@@CrossOfBayonne Bless their hearts and much gratitude for their service.

[@Bigskyguy56]

"THE GREATEST GENERATION" may God Bless you & protect you.

[@colleenross8752]

Who saves one life, saves the world

[@vincebelmonte7710]

My mom was born during the war and food was scares they were hiding in a cave down a ravine she told told me American solders would always bring them food god bless them.Monte Casino

[@mchrysogelos7623]

sweet! 💖💖

[@jzabala10]

My daddy didn't serve during ww2, he was born in 1933 and he told me stories when he was a kid they heard the news on the radio every day, he was 5 when the war started and he still remembered the fear, that was a deep wound in the world that we should never repeat

[@teresalegler2777]

Wowza, what a beautiful story! Their mother was so smart and brave at the same time. Glad they all were able to meet again.

[@regolith1350]

It's a great story but the title is misleading. He didn't "save" the children. He stopped himself from committing a tragedy.

[@xxtwobitxx]

that guy is a legend rrrrrrrrrrrrr

[@Mav_F]

My grandfather saved 2 Americans hiding from the Germans for a week or so in Italy. The Americans didn't listen to him (not sure if they understood it was too dangerous to leave) and took off in the wrong direction and about 20 minutes later he heard machine gunning and knew it must have been the Americans getting gunned down. It upset my grandfather a lot. Maybe it wasn't them but who knows to this day. That was during WWII, of course.

[@DefeatLust]

Damn...

[@ZATennisFan]

As it always is with these stories the real beauty is in all the lives that wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t held fire. The effects of that act will ripple through time for all eternity.

[@lamontmelrose7640]

I'm telling you, every outreach I participate in, spreading the gospel, there is no greater joy than to come across a veteran and just sit down and let them share stories of their experiences in conflict! I have such a deep respect for our military veterans, and it is an honor to know that there are those among us who risked their lives for us! God bless this man, his family, and the lives that he saved! #respect

[@IkesPimpHand]

I wish I was as lucky as you!

[@dannyadams9811]

Truly one of the greatest generation.

[@mcfcguvnors]

Thompson MG always use that in COD - what a legend this man was during all that chaos

[@brickman291]

I’m from the abruzzo region, my grandmother had my dad and his 2 sisters while my grandfather was fighting. As an American plane was strifing the Germans in our town she ran saved her kids but ran back out to save the horse and caught shrapnel in her thigh, growing up in the 60s I heard a lot of stories. War leaves generational scars.

[@Jimbow-sz9kh]

Horrifying story. I hope she made a full recovery and was gifted a beautiful life due to her selfless sacrifice for her kids. My grandfather was six when he and his family fled to America from the Abruzzo region as his father saw the impending war coming and wanted his family out of harms way. My grandfather was too young to serve but ironically enough his two older brothers immediately enlisted into the US Army as soon as they became citizens. One even served as a tank gunner in General Patton's third army. He especially never shared a war story and took so much sorrow and guilt to his grave.

[@juju1896]

Brickman your grandmother was a total badass with a huge heart. Thanks for sharing her here. ❤️

[@SirJames-rl1mu]

He is a legend

[@brittanycrow7185]

Saved by love and courage it transcends all things ♡

[@redcardinalist]

Yes just not by him but by their mother from him....

[@drivethruabortion280]

The Greatest Generation.

[@Thebluesky0311]

great story, well done

[@edgarross9955]

Every WW2 Vet talked with such swagger. "I had my Thompson, brrrrt" LOL these dudes had major guts ofc they did

[@valdzeelis25]

in my understanding, he saved nothing, he just not murdered those kids.

[@user-wv9yz3ix2k]

God bless u for yr kind heart

[@manuginobilisbaldspot2]

RIP to a real hero.

[@user-gt2lh2ec9e]

Wow, man was a REAL HERO! Thanks for your service Sir. John P.

[@user-sw6zb7od3e]

It is an amazing story.❤

[@aquitaineq]

Okay....so the mom is the actual hero.

[@michaelagnew7493]

God bless them all :) Gives meaning to "Why We Fight"

[@palmergriffiths1952]

Thank you for your Service Mr.Adler 🇺🇲 🙏 From Canada 🇨🇦

[@eastprospecthomestead]

Ma is the real hero, but bless his soul for liberating them.

[@taschigawahades1942]

When you get reminded Soldiers are People Human too❤

[@OrieCipollaro]

Greatest generation that ever walked this earth!

[@rpr7919]

True heroe.

[@cerberusknight3987]

War can be hell but there are moments where the most wholesome side of war well show this was one o those moments

[@dorismaul9175]

Credit should go to the woman that stood in front of his gun screaming Bamini

[@flowerfaerie8931]

Never underestimate the value of choosing not to shoot.

[@whitehedboii]

Amazing love from finland!!!! 😍😍❤️😘😘🤗🤗🇫🇮❤️🇮🇹

[@bobbyc.3587]

God bless you! My dad served in ww2 - USMC.

[@philchurch1115]

My Father was 10th MTN DIV company C 87th and was in the hill towns of Italy and his group took a reunion trip in 1974 and I was with them, and you should have seen how the people of the hill towns welcomed them it was a beautiful site to see.😄

[@mariagianniotis1651]

Bless his heart. What a great story. Thanks to his daughter for finding them. 👍👏🙏🌺🙏🌺🙏

[@larryburton9369]

Such a beautiful story God Bless 🙏 to all men and women who serve our country

[@juliemerritt5144]

God bless him

[@swampghost72]

I have often thought about the stories that no one will ever know about..I feel honored to have known that generation growing up while they were still a big part of society..Now they are few..Whenever I meet a ww2 veteran I cherish the moment..They are indeed the greatest generation..They were selfless , they knew that real sacrifice brought great rewards for all of humankind..They saved the world..If not for them we would all be speaking German today.

[@love2sing20101]

This is so heartwarming. ❤ WWII American vets are/were the best! Missing my grandpa…

[@shawngildersleeve9831]

They really are the greatest generation, I only wish today's society had the same morals and principles, maybe the country and the world wouldn't be so screwed up.

[@xavierharding8938]

LOL Today's generation thinks that there are more than two genders.

[@deepaktripathi4417]

A real soldier.... Hat's off to you! 🙏

[@BeeFunKnee]

In 1975, there was an old man who was a WWI war veteran who lived where I did at The Brand Hotel in Glendale California. He'd always elbow the young men as they tried to share the stairs with him. I was raised better than that, so I always greeted him kindly and gave him plenty of room. The others would scream insults at him and laugh though. One day as I came home from work he had elbowed me out of his way. I had been letting him do it without saying anything, but then I finally screamed, "What's your problem, old man!" at him. His answer was "I was machine gun riddled in World War One, I don't have to take you youngsters crap!" I laughed, thinking he was just another crazy 'liar'. "Yeah, like I'm going to believe that lie, ha!" I had said. It was only then that he tore off his t-shirt and I saw a line of holes going across his whole chest. He turned around and his whole back looked just like uncooked hamburger. I cried right then and there for him and he cried along with me. The other teens came along and I explained what I had seen. Then I told them they'd have me to deal with if I ever caught any of them not showing him proper respect. Soon, they too were calling him "Sir" and making sure he had plenty of room while he used the stairs. That was 48 years ago, a whole lifetime for some humans, and I'll take the memory of that brave war veteran to my grave with me. You can't ALWAYS judge books by their cover.

[@IkesPimpHand]

The man understandably didn't like being crowded most likely due to PTSD

[@BeeFunKnee]

@@IkesPimpHand Yes, I agree. He probably had what they now call C-PSTD which id "Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder". PSTD time after time after time. Watching the world move right away from your own generation leaves a hurting person as if lost behind in another long-gone era. No one can relate with you, too many are playing youthful games, too. Too many whine about small personal things when you know you've had honest traumatic experiences. My life is like that and I've been told I have C-PTSD. Meanwhile, the world just goes on and on. Maine says "Hello".

[@lobotalonco6196]

Back in his day, they called it shell shock. I used to work in a restaurant and have kinda a similar experience with a retired Navy Seal. Modern Warfare is so terrible it literally breaks strong brave confident men's minds. I quit along time ago and havnt seen him in years I hope he's doing alright. 🫡 btw writing from Kennebec county here

[@BeeFunKnee]

@@lobotalonco6196 "Hello" Kennebec county! I'm a person who experienced trauma from an early age. Three Vietnam War veterans I have had as friends said the statement, "You beat me". I had to finally ask one what that meant. He told me that I had experienced trauma as a child, and that they had all been adults even if young adults at the time. I'll leave you with an Abraham Lincoln quote... "In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all, and to the young it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares. The older have learned to ever expect it."

[@lobotalonco6196]

@BeeFunKnee yep ol Abe was a pretty smart guy. I'm glad you survived your ordeals and are still fighting the good fight, lol. Another smart guy who loved big cigars named Winston said: "A kite flies highest against the wind, not with it." I think you may relate to that a bit. I know I do. Take care.

[@genekeller3186]

Miracles never cease

[@grandmemaw3605]

What a beautiful story, private alder is a hero

[@weatherboi]

One of the best news videos I have seen in a long time on KZbin.

[@bobfranks8719]

Such a beautiful thing 😊

[@ronb67]

If he is what they claim. Can you find what Unit they claim he was in? I can't put blind trust in anything the media reports.

[@kidyubyub]

@@ronb67 Read my comment below in another post of yours. I found the info you require.

[@walesdad]

What a great story.

[@MiMiiViVi]

What a wonderful story

[@theresa1305]

Beautiful story.

[@kevbrix9686]

Truly a story of ages. Immaculate.

[@BrianTKessler]

I'm a big professional wrestling fan and heard once read an interview with Bruno Sammartino. He and his Italian family hid from the Nazis when they occupied his town in WWII. I always thought the Italians were allies with the Germans and was surprised to hear how rough some of them had it. A coworker also discovered the diary of his grandmother's previous husband. He was a reluctant Nazi soldier. An officer ordered him and the other soldiers to machine gun and set fire to an orphanage run by nuns. One soldier protested, was executed on-site, and the rest fell in line. The husband lost his heart for the war afterward, went out of his way to ignore Jewish families hiding in attics, and regretted not speaking out for the rest of his life. The grandmother was a collaborator and blamed her husband for losing the war. She died just a few years ago, still a hateful anti-semite.

[@STRANGERINMOSCOW1]

This is what life is about! I love it ❤

[@avalonjustin]

What an awesome and beautiful story🥰

[@jamesfmarquess6466]

So heartwarming

[@poxahigor]

I'm Brazilian. My cousins fought in Italy.

[@hankhaney3785]

...he "held fire" because he saw children. WOW, everybody did that pretty much in a war. This is more about a G.I. who helped some Italian kids and is now reunited with them.

[@blondie6549]

True American patriot! Respect 🫡! Thank you sir! 🙏🇺🇸❤️🤍💙🇺🇸🙏

[@evanjacobs5411]

God Bless them all

[@bonjourtoi3894]

ça c'est un beau cadeau. Merci pour tout.

[@isaiahhellems7901]

I have nothing against religion or religious people but i dont want to downplay this man's compassion. It wasnt God. It was all him. His compassion and his decision to save them.

[@divyabhashini]

Respect u sir.

[@mpsymonds1]

What god dam story. Beautiful.

[@user-vi6pv4zp7b]

He didnt save he didnt kill them thanks to the mother .

[@tdtdtd1826]

Bless him

[@lillbrittz]

Bravo on you sir

[@vitotondo3274]

It sounds like he didn’t save them, more like their mother prevented him to kill them

[@ChristianNathanielLaCroix]

Exactly.

[@AcidAroma]

Omg making me tear up hardcore, giving me seriously strong ‘Miracle at St. Anna’ vibes. If you’ve never seen that movie I highly recommend it.

[@davestark2015]

Got tears

[@williamwallace4080]

I mean props to him for not shooting kids but their mother saved them, not him.

[@ChristianNathanielLaCroix]

That's what I was thinking.

[@earningzekrom4173]

Heroes

[@jpturner171]

AWSOME!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@JoeOMalley-py8wq]

God bless you .

[@alvashoemaker8536]

REMARKABLE story!! HAPPY “solution”! (A I DON’a want to say “ENDING…”. BLESSINGS to y’all… “THANK you, sir, for your service!” ❤️❤️👍

[@bryce6106]

incredible.

[@spanque31]

save = not shooting? They were save until you almost shot them "brrrrrrrr"

[@karlbaschal3245]

Nice story.

[@dridda9117]

his machine gun/ growl sound caught me off guard man lmfao

[@squintsyadams8463]

So the Mom saved the day.

[@Mrtreemeable]

That story is incrrrrreeethathathathathathadabl

[@catholic3dod790]

Respect 🇺🇸

[@hanslaurentius4618]

Beautiful 😊!

[@greenjosh75]

I lost it when he made the Thomson Machine Gun go burrrrrrrrrr. 💀