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Thursday, 26 February 2009
The Sack Lunches
Topic: FROM THE GUNNY

Just a little tidbit forwarded to me

by my friend Gunnery Sargent M Spragg Rtd

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 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.  &nb sp; 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   

 

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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 5:46 AM CST
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Updated: Thursday, 26 February 2009 6:13 AM CST

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