Friends Reunite 75 Years After Voyage to US

A reunion after 75 years took place recently between immigrants Lena and Yolanda, who were young girls when they first met during a 14-day ocean crossing. In April of 1947, both the young girls were emigrating with their Italian families to the US. They met each other aboard the Saturnia, a ship sailing toward America’s Ellis Island—and became instant friends.

Lena left her hometown of Pallagorio when she was ten years old. Nine-year-old Yolanda left her home in Belmonte—a 2.5 hour drive between them. When the ship made it to America, the families went their separate ways. Unbeknownst to each other, the two women had been living within 2.5 hours of each other their whole lives.

The heartwarming reunion came about when Lena’s youngest son Steve had been researching their transatlantic voyage over the last few years and uncovered the actual ship’s manifest online. Lena, now 85 years old, had always remembered the name of her sailing buddy, Yolanda. So, Steve diligently searched for the whereabouts of her friend, who had remained a memory for his mother for years.

Steve found that Yolanda was still thriving and had been living just 2.5 hours away. Steve found Yolanda’s phone number and left a message on her answering machine explaining that her childhood sailing buddy wanted to get in touch. Covid-19 and other obstacles delayed the reunion, but finally a time and date were set.

Yolanda‘s son Rich drove his mom across state lines from her home in Weirton, West Virginia, to Lena’s house in Meadville, Pennsylvania, where they greeted each other at the front door, embracing with tears of joy. During the meeting, the two women reminisced about their few memories of that voyage on Saturnia—which included feelings of wonderment of what the New World would be like. They shared stories of their unfolding lives during the afternoon lunch.

Lena said “Yolanda was the face and name that was synonymous with my transition from one life to another. For that reason alone, I could never forget her. Now that we’ve been reunited, I am even more grateful to call her my friend and to have had the chance to share our stories.”