Posted on 10/06/2009 10:39:48 AM PDT by pansgold
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< br> 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
Awesome post pans!
ELAINE: Oh, c’mon Blaine. look at the poster for Sack Lunch.
BLAINE: It’s a family in a brown paper bag.
ELAINE: (laughing) Don’t you wanna know how they got in there?
BLAINE: No.
And PS. Soldiers traveling get a decent per diem to buy their meals.
And PS. Soldiers traveling get a decent per diem to buy their meals.
Yeah, soldiering especially for enlisted guys is a ton of money thrown at ya...
There is a per diem but decent is not what I would call it and I also think anytime someone can help an enlisted guy out by buying thier lunch, dinner, beer, they should. Guys in the O classes are a little different story, but enlisted folks need all the help they can get.
They do, but a lot of them need it to send home to their family for foolish purchases like rent and food.
Please tell me this is real so when I check on Snopes, it’s not another one of those urban myths. I cried when I read it and want to pass it on.
Since my body is getting older and can no longer be redeemed for the check the soldiers today write, I will gladly buy them a lunch anytime I can.
When I was working as a box office cashier, I used to give them the child rate (free would have lost me my job) on a ticket when they came in. A blown kiss through the glass, and a thank you for your service as well.
I still hug every one I happen upon, and one particular army vet who I am lucky enough to be married to gets more than his fill of them every day :)
I can’t verify it. It was sent as an email FWD to me from my Uncle Alan “Dale” H. who now resides in a VA Nursing Home in the state of Washington.
Here’s something that’s NOT an urban myth. In 1994 when my father died I received a small inheritance. When I cashed the check at the local credit union, my wife and I left but as we walked out the door I saw a fellow without any legs in a wheelchair who was being helped by a woman who was the driver of the van. This guy really looked rough. The van was a beater and 2 small kids in the back seat of the van caught my eye. The guy was wearing a hat that said US Army. I looked at my wife and she knew what I thinking (she always does after 36 years) and I handed the guy a fifty dollar bill and thanked him for his service. No I didn’t ask any questions and don’t even know if he’d even been in the service. It didn’t matter. He was just a human being that looked like he and those with him needed some help.
Another time we walked into our local homeless food kitchen to donate a hundred bucks in the name of our church when I noticed a family walk in for a meal. They had kids with them and serving stopped at 5 PM sharp. That day They ate a sit down meal in a family restaurant on us.
We are no different than many others with a heart that donate time and money to the needy.
If the story isn’t true, it should be as a tribute to those that can’t pass up a chance to help a neighbor in need.
What's $5 to touch the life of a servicemember that he/she may remember the gratitude of someone who loves this nation and recognizes their sacrifice?
I've found that most won't accept outright, embarrassment I suppose, but anonymously, they won't be able to say no.
SZ
I agree with you but I have a story for you too. When I as in my 20s, I saw a woman near a shopping plaza with an adorable little boy and she had a sign saying “Will work for food” and my heart just melted. I had a stuffed animal in the car that belonged to my son and I gave it to the little guy and handed her $20 cash. That was a LOT of money to me and it was sometime around 1990 or 1991. Anyway, I told my dad about it and he really got on me like I was a fool. He made me feel so bad, in fact, that I cried, and then HE felt really bad. I think even when we get scammed, God accounts it to us for the good. However, here’s the punchline: About a week or so later, the local paper did a huge story on these gypsies or whatever you call them who had come into the area and were conning people. They had a photograph of... you guessed it... the woman and the little kid, used to evoke sympathy.
I don’t blame you for what you did but I give my money to the church and organizations that help those who need help. I also donate to the Salvation Army and so on. That way, I know there’s a little accountability.
Blessings.
I was in Las Vegas at New York, New York in the dueling piano bar. A group of young men dedicated a song to their unit since they had just come back from Iraq. I gave my waitress $50 and told her to buy them a round on me. The next thing I knew the boys were all at my table to thank me. I meant it to be anonymous but it was cool to talk to them and to see how appreciative they were. I highly recommned the experience.
That’s a little different. Glad you have $50 you can be generous with - that alone is a blessing many do not have.
Understood. It isn’t often I hand a dime to anyone personally. In fact last I saw the same woman who really looks rough standing in front of the same store on Mooney Blvd. here in Visalia, California that she stood in front of a week earlier.
Later that day when my wife and I went to buy gasoline at Steve’s Git-N-Go liquor store (neither of us drink) I noticed that same woman with a plastic shopping bag filled with wine and beer as she got into the car in front of my van.
I usually let the people with the sign “Will Work for Food” know the grocery store they are usually in front of is usually hiring. Not to be smart about it, I know it’s hard for someone homeless to take care of their personal needs and without a phone or address, it’s nearly impossible to get hired anywhere. But when the person with the sign refuses to go into the store and I’ll pay for their groceries for mowing my lawn and they want cash... well we both know for what. Drugs, cigarettes or booze.
Not a Dave Ramsey ping, but a blurry screen warning ping.
This is true, they get per diem. But it’s only when they report to duty and file a claim with personnel/ disbursing. It can take weeks to get your money. And sometimes soldiers won’t eat but will file the claim and use that money for something else.
I don’t care if soldiers get per diem or if this story is 100% true or not - soldiers that happen to be dining in my families line of sight get their dinners paid for on us.
Talk about missing the point...
And you’re not going to make it to ‘First Banana’ with THAT unappreciative attitude, Buster.
I can't vouch for this particular story, but I know someone who occasionally goes to the recruiting station near their place. They give whomever is up front enough to buy everyone in the station a pizza.
Aww, don't cry it's a crock of shit email, sniff.
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