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 will
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 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 th e 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
wouldn’t be worth five bucks. I’ll wait till
we get to base.’
His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None 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
; it’s almost like you are doing it for
him.’
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 plane, returning a minute later with a dinner
plate from first class.
‘This is your thanks..’
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
walked, 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 wa s 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.
Iwalked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars.
‘It will take you some time to reach the base.. It will
be about time for a sandwich.
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 couple of meals. It
seemed so 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….
Prayer chain for our Military… Don’t break it!
Please send this on after a short prayer..for our soldiers
Don’t break it!
Prayer:
‘Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect
them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for
the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.
Amen.’
GOD BLESS YOU FOR PASSING IT ON!
There are only two defining forces who have ever offered to die for you. One is Jesus Christ and the other the American Soldier.One died for your sins and the other for your freedom!
Submitted by: Carolyn Napolitano
