Snack

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.'

Nice story

Agreed. I don't usually read long "story" posts but that was worth it...

Thanks funsway!

It's the
Land of the Free, Because of the Brave.

God Bless America!


Also, he's a poem I found recently:

That is nice. One of my fondest memories was flying to Beirut and we landed in Spain for fuel. It was about three in the morning and we were met by a group of American wives of sailors who had made us all sack lunches. It sure was appreciated.

I remember being invited to a strangers house for Christmas dinner back in 1965.

Yeah...it made us feel like lil foster kids being sent out for dinner. It was great though.

I can certainly relate. Although I still have quite a few years left, it's the little things that Ill remember the most...

How we treat our veterans will determine the security of our nation.

Great story.

In the 60's if you showed up at the USO in uniform on Christmas day people would pull up out front, and take a few sailors home with them for dinner.