WiregrassSeniorsMagazine . com Page 19
Shortly after returning to his seat , the man says that the plane ' s captain was walking down the aisle toward him .
" I hoped he was not looking for me , but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane ," he wrote in a post on the Love What Matters Facebook page . " 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 ."
The man says the captain told him that he is a veteran and served as a military pilot . He said , " Once , someone bought me a lunch . It was an act of kindness I never forgot ."
Then , to the man ' s surprise , the entire plane began applauding for him .
Later on , the man walked down the aisle again and a man behind him reached out for a handshake , but slipped $ 25 into his hands . Another passenger also slipped $ 25 into his shirt pocket after the plane landed .
After leaving the plane , the man saw the soldiers gathered in the terminal , so he walked up to them with the $ 75 given to him by the other passengers . He handed the cash to one of them and said ," It will take you some time to reach the base . It will be about time for a sandwich . God Bless You ."
The man prayed for the soldiers as he left the airport . He felt good about what he did , but only wished that he was able to do more .
He concluded his story , saying , " 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 .'"