CONWAY, Ark. — It’s been a long time since Lieutenant Kenyon Brindley has been home in Central Arkansas. The World War II soldier was flying a mission over Germany when his plane was shot down.
He, along with several others in his plane, died that day.
German soldiers recovered his body, and after the war, his body was transported to Belgium. There, his remains sat for decades.
However, his family never gave up hope of finding his remains. Joe Brindley, Kenyon’s brother, has been waiting since he was young.
Now at 95 years old, he said he never thought the day would come.
“I was so excited, I think I had tears I was so excited about it,” Joe said.
Joe explained how his brother was keen on writing to his family, and telling them about missions he had completed abroad.
“When he did write, he said, ‘I had a good mission today, we did a good job,’” he added.
Monday marked a decades-old search for Kenyon. At the Roller-McNutt funeral home in Conway, a memorial service was held to honor him.
“You can’t believe how exciting it is to have somebody in your family have that happen, especially after 79 years,” Joe said.
Kenyon’s remains were identified thanks to scientific advancement and a distant relative— a great-niece named Susan Smith.
“Out of that family of 11 siblings, my brother and I were the only two who qualified for this,” Smith said. “The also really cool thing about this was before this whole process started, I didn’t know Joe.”
Dozens came out to the memorial to show their support, including Arkansas Representative French Hill.
“I just wanted to add recognition for your family,” Hill, R-District 2, said, speaking to Joe. “I had a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol, in honor of your brother and your family, and we wanted to present that to you.”
It was a moment of closure for Joe and the rest of his family— and it will hopefully give hope to others who have been looking for closure as well.
“I can’t see how it wouldn’t,” Joe said. “That other people have the same thing happen, have to be very, very excited.”