WASHINGTON 鈥� An unlikely friendship between a 90-year-old World War II veteran and a 4-year-old boy is withstanding the confines of distance and age.
Next-door neighbors 90-year-old Erling Kindem and 4-year-old Emmett Rychner enjoyed growing tomato plants, racing lawn mowers and playing croquet in their Minneapolis-area neighborhood. However, last summer, the and moved after a decade of living next to Kindem, reported KARE-TV.
Around the same time, Kindem decided it was time to leave his home and move with his wife into a senior apartment.
Even though the buddies live about 30 miles apart, Emmett and his family have . And on Sunday, Emmett and his family stopped by Kindem鈥檚 90th birthday party, .
Emmett came with a recognizable gift for the聽World War II veteran who flew combat missions in Europe:聽a matching set of dog tags. Each dog tag has an engraving with 鈥淓mmett & Erling鈥� and 鈥淔riends Forever.鈥�
WWII vet Erling marks his 90th birthday with a visit from his best buddy Emmett. Tonite@10 on KARE
鈥� Boyd Huppert (@BoydHuppert)
When the pair parted ways, Kindem had a message for his young friend.
鈥淵ou come back again,鈥� the 90-year-old said.
鈥淚 will eventually,鈥� Emmett responded as he walked away. He turned back, wrapped his arms around Kindem鈥檚 legs and said, 鈥淗appy birthday, Erling.鈥�
Watch the KARE-TV report:
