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 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 'citizens of United States / Canada '
for an amount of 'up to and 
including my life.'
 

That is Honour, and 
there are way too many people in this country 
who no longer understand it.'