From a Veteran on Veteran’s day, You are welcome

[rgcraig]

Oh my....this really made me CRY!!!

I would love to be able to do somethin glike this sometime!

> 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 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 the time..
>
> As I reached for my wallet, I
> overheard 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, an 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 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.'
>