Sack Lunches

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 thosesoldiers.’ 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 neverforgot.’ 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.. 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.’

      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!

November 12, 2011 | Categories: freedom, liberty, Life, people, Uncategorized, veterans | Tags: Afghanistan, Aisle, Flight attendant, Iraq, Lunch, Packed lunch, Petawawa, Soldier | 7 Comments »