Please STAND

>
Stand up and salute. This is good

The Sack Lunches
>
> I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my
> assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have
a
> good book to read, perhaps I'll get a short nap,' I thought.
>
> Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and
> filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a
> conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated
> nearest to me
>
> 'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and
then
> from there we're being deployed to Afghanistan..'
>
> After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack
> lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours
> before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help
> pass the time.
>
> As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he
> planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a
> sack lunch. Probably wouldn8 0t be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we

> get to base.' His friend agreed.
>
> I looked around at the other soldiers. None of the young men were
> buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight
> attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those
soldiers.'
> She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she
> thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq . When you help these young
> men you're doing it for all of America 's warriors - so thank you
for
> helping my son.'
>
> Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers
> were seated.
>
> She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or
> chicken?'
>
> 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went
to
> the front of the plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate
> from first class. 'This is for you.'
>
> After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane,
> heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I
> want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five
dollars.
>
> Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down
> the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walk ed, I hoped he was
> not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on
> my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held
> out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'
>
> Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand.
> With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military
> pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I
> never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of
> the passengers.
>
> Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A
> man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand,
> wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
>
> When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane.
> Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put
> something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a
> word. Another twenty-five dollars!
>
> Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their
> trip to the base. I walked over and handed them the seventy-five
> dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will soon
> be time for supper. God Bless You.' Ten young men left that flight
> feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked
> briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These
> soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them
> a sack lunch. It seemed s o little...
>
> A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank
> check made payable to the ' United States of America ' for an
amount
> of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way
too
> many people in this country who no longer understand it.
>
> May God give you the strength and courage to pass this along to
> everyone on your email buddy list...?
>
> I JUST DID
>

That's the way IT SHOULD BE in my book.

I live in the middle of nowhere (actually, just beyond nowhere) so I don't see many soldiers. When I do see them, they get my utmost respect, a handshake, a thank you, and all the money I have on me.

Hats off and a heartfelt thank you to the person in this letter. have to say what he did was above and beyond, then to get more than he gave back, only to give that back also.............that is a really really great person.

As for the soldiers, May God Bless you as you go, and God Bless you for your service

What everybody said!

we need more people like this

Can't say anything more about this then what's already been said. Good post.

I think that one was posted here before, but certainly worth a second time around.

i think we all need to have more respect for our men and women in uniform. i live close to a national guard armory and see the soldiers all the time there and at the store next door. i have taught my grandson well, every time we see one or a group he will walk up to one or more and stretch out his hand to shake and say thank you for what you do. i have seen many a big man almost cry because of the love and honesty shown by a young boy, he is 7. they always tell him thanks and sometimes give a hug. our people are not thanked enough. sometimes i will call the vfw or the americian leigeion and ask for the closest veteran to the phone and tell him thanks. sometimes they talk and sometimes they dont. none of them know my name but they know my voice. try it sometime when you feel down, i promice it will lift you up

I've bought meals for veterans usually they are here for the care at the va. I always just pay the waitress and tell her to not say anything.

I am a retired usaf MSGT. My oldest in stationed at bagram ab afganistan.She is a TSGT computer analyst. She's been in for 17 years.

harryzx-12 said:

I've bought meals for veterans usually they are here for the care at the va. I always just pay the waitress and tell her to not say anything.

I am a retired usaf MSGT. My oldest in stationed at bagram ab afganistan.She is a TSGT computer analyst. She's been in for 17 years.

Click to expand...

Good on you for that
And thank you for your service, as well as your daughter's. This is a good thread to bump.

Also, welcome to FF.

if i were a guy,to that gentleman.