7 first-class passengers give up seats to Marines returning from Afghanistan

foxnews ^ | Published November 06, 2013

[bestintxas]

Fourteen Marines on their way home from serving in Afghanistan were upgraded to first class on their flight from Chicago to San Diego.

The Marines learned that American Airlines - which has a policy to upgrade servicemen and women in uniform whenever possible - had six empty seats in first class for the group. That gesture was followed by seven first-class passengers who jumped out of their seats for the other Marines so they could sit together.

"It was incredibly touching," Capt. Pravin Rajan said in a telephone interview from Camp Pendleton in California. "Afghanistan is a very complex and ambiguous war ... and a difficult thing to keep track of so it is amazing when we are 10 years (into) a war and there is still that kind of community, that level of support, the level of willingness to go out of one's way."

The welcome home started with a phone call. Stephanie Hare, a native of Illinois who now works in England, called the USO at O'Hare and explained that her fiance, Rajan, who had served seven months in Afghanistan, was with a dozen other Marines on a plane bound for Chicago from Baltimore.

"I just thought if they could get them some Chicago pizza, champagne or something, that would mean a lot," she said.

On the other end of the line was John Colas, a 74-year-old former Marine USO volunteer. He told Hare he'd try to do something in the hour or so before the flight landed. But he cautioned that while volunteers make an effort to welcome military personnel whenever they come through the airport, he wasn't sure he could pull anything off in such a short time.

[bestintxas]

“Kudo’s to American Airlines & those who gave up their seats.”

I also recall a time when I flew Continental from LAX to Houston and a young man in uniform was beside me. He told me he was serving in Iraq and was sent back by USO who bought tickets so he could attend the funeral of his mother in Texas who was dying of cancer, he had flown on four flights to go to Pendleton to collect his wife who he had not seen in months who was 8 months pregnant so she could go to funeral with him.

I then said I would be glad to exchange my seat for his wife to sit next to him. he said his wife was not on the same flight as a Continental agent told him he could not exchange his ticket for another flight and his wife was coming later. He said he explained the situation to the agent of what was happening and they said there was nothing they could do.

I asked him for his name and particulars and wrote Continental’s management on how they could treat someone in his situation like that.

Continental wound up sending me a note that apologized and they sent free tickets to the man to use. I also noticed afterwards that Continental and now United has a very public display on its website of policy of convenience for those in uniform.

[rlmorel]

Thanks for the advice, and what you do.