REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Thursday December 16, 2004

A WAR hero, who saved the lives of a Jewish family during World War II, was robbed while he dropped of his Christmas grocery donations at a homeless centre.

Dino Glerean devoted his life to giving to disadvantaged people, only to have a heartless thief take personal belongings from him.

He lost money and several

other items, but he says those things just “don’t seem to matter”.

The then-75-year-old just wanted his St Christopher medallion back – a holy medal he carried with him every day since he was 16 years old. Not having the St Christopher was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

”To me as an Italian, St Christopher was a great man and I have carried that medal in my wallet for many, many years,’’ he said.

”It’s something I got close to

and I have looked at it every day since I have had it.

”It could have been my saviour, the reason I am alive today, and it was important to me because it gave me the strength to go on during the ... bad times. I don’t care about the money. I would just like my valuables back because they are no good to anyone but me.’’

Dino’s passion for helping people was born in Italy in 1943 when he hid a Jewish family in his Venice home and saved them from death at the hands of fascists.