Very touching story, and probably not unique.
Gino Farnetti, a famished five-year-old boy, was discovered by Canadian soldiers following a battle in Torrice, Italy, in June 1944.
Members of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps found six-year-old Gino Farnetti, whose father had died and mother was unaccounted for, alone in Torrice, Italy, in June 1944 while they were fighting the Germans
Gino Farnetti, a famished five-year-old boy, was discovered by Canadian soldiers following a battle in Torrice, Italy, in June 1944.
Members of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps found six-year-old Gino Farnetti, whose father had died and mother was unaccounted for, alone in Torrice, Italy, in June 1944 while they were fighting the Germans
...Over the following nine months, Canadian soldiers cared for Farnetti, teaching him English and relying on him as a camp messenger throughout the closing months of the Second World War.
...“Canadian soldiers were having a tea break in a quarry before returning to camp,” he told the Post in an email. “They heard a howling noise and thought it was a dog.
“Then they realized the noise came from a child stuck in a bomb crater trying to get their attention.”
Battista said the soldiers looked after Farnetti as if he was one of their own. “The soldiers, mostly in their early 20s, felt they had their own son, reminding them of home — all in the middle of a terrible war.”
After his time with the Canadians, Farnetti was adopted by an Italian couple and currently lives with his wife, Rita, in Manfredonia, Puglia, Italy.
...“Canadian soldiers were having a tea break in a quarry before returning to camp,” he told the Post in an email. “They heard a howling noise and thought it was a dog.
“Then they realized the noise came from a child stuck in a bomb crater trying to get their attention.”
Battista said the soldiers looked after Farnetti as if he was one of their own. “The soldiers, mostly in their early 20s, felt they had their own son, reminding them of home — all in the middle of a terrible war.”
After his time with the Canadians, Farnetti was adopted by an Italian couple and currently lives with his wife, Rita, in Manfredonia, Puglia, Italy.
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I never thought of us as an invasive species 
I recall that in another thread last year someone thought we were going to invade to steal your maple syrup!
