Live updates from the Lindner parade route
11:28 a.m.
The procession ended shortly before 11 a.m.
11:02 a.m.
Marian Ferdon, 90, of Symmes Township was a fourth-grade classmate of Lindner and went to the same Baptist church growing up with him. As the hearse passed by in front of Trio Bistro, Ferdon bounced up and down holding a cane in one hand and a stranger’s shoulder with the other.
“I have a balance problem,” she said, “but I would not miss this for the world
As the hearse passed, she said, “I have to say a prayer. I have to say bless him for all the good that he’s done.”
10:55 a.m.
A crowd of 100 people a half-block in front of Nordstrom held red, white and blue balloons in the middle of Kenwood Road. Traffic eased around the crowd.
On the sidewalk, Craig Denton of Kennedy Heights said he had to come out to see his boss one last time. Denton said Lindner gave him his first job when he was 17 delivering inner-office mail at Great American Insurance Co.
Honor Flight
So, the four — Kinsman, Stone, Meyers and Rusch — were among the 33 World War II veterans who were flown back to Washington, D.C. in mid-September from Arizona.
Until the flight, Kinsman had not met either Meyers or Rusch. Now, they are all telling tales on one another like they have been buddies for years.
The Honor Flight trip gave them a chance to connect, not only with one another, but also with almost 30 other World War II veterans from around the state and share the stories of their service.
Kinsman, who will be 87 in October, served in the U.S. Army and was a prisoner of war in Hanover, Germany and awarded the Purple Heart.
Meyers, 84, was in the U.S. Navy and served aboard LST 1049 that landed on the beach on D-Day. He was also sent to Hiroshima, Japan just a few days after the atomic bomb was dropped on the city.
“We were in a hotel (on a top floor) that was still standing, though the floors were sagging and you could see the support structures. We looked out one of the windows and for miles around there was nothing,” he said. Walking through the area, they came across about 12 people still alive, and maybe six of them could speak English.
