John 'Paddy' Hemingway was not in
good shape when his fighter was shot down over enemy lines over
the countryside of the province of Ferrara in April 1945.
The Irishman serving in the Royal Air Force (RAF) just about
survived the crash, but his life was still in grave danger.
Fortunately he managed to find shelter in a farmhouse near the
town of Coccanile di Cooparo and a nine-year-old girl, following
instructions from her father, managed to take him past the
retreating German forces, beyond the front, to safety.
Hemingway is 104 now and the 'girl' who saved him, Carla Fabbri,
passed away some 10 years ago.
Thanks to an appeal made via Italian daily newspaper Il
Messaggero, Hemingway recently had an encounter with Fabbri's
daughter Lina Volpi at his Dublin home and was able to express
his gratitude with an embrace.
"When I saw him, his eyes lit up," Volpi told daily newspaper Il
Resto del Carlino.
"When I shook his hand, I immediately thought that my mother had
shaken that same hand 79 years ago and I felt very close to him
at once".
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