Sack Lunches

[Jack R]

Have you done anything this great today? I'd like to believe that this is a true story and not a work of fiction.

HAVE A GREAT DAY

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 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 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.'

May God give you the strength and courage to pass this along to
everyone on your email buddy list....

I JUST DID

Let us pray...

Prayer chain for our Military... Don't break it!

Please send this on after a short prayer.. Pray 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.'

Prayer Request: When you receive this, please stop for a moment and
say a prayer for our troops around the world.

There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address
book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine,
Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm's way, prayer is the very
best one..

GOD BLESS YOU FOR PASSING IT ON!

[KC1BUD]

Great to see these kind of things still happen in this day and age.
After Vietnam, I was stationed at Ft. Belvoir Va. one weekend I was hitching a ride home for the weekend and almost to my destination the last guy as I was climbing out of the car reached over and handed me a 20 and told me to call a cab and not take chances hitching a ride. He refused to take the 20 back thanked me for my service and sped off. This was 1971 folks back when the Vietnam war was real unpopular.