and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going

to be a long flight.  I Am 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 Are 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 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 OR HER

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.'