Random acts of kindness are a great way to inspire someone and make them smile. A man named Denny Kukich learned this firsthand when he performed an act of kindness for a group of soldiers on a plane.
When Denny Kukich boarded his flight, he was thinking of nothing but the book he was going to read and the nap he hoped to take to pass the time. Kukich didn’t think anything out-of-the-ordinary was going to happen during his trip.
Suddenly, a group of about ten soldiers boarded the plane. They sat down in the seats around Kukich.
As the plane started to taxi, Kukich struck up a conversation with one of the soldiers. Kukich described what happened next to Love What Matters:
“’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.’”
About an hour into the flight, the flight attendant announced that they would be selling lunch sacks for $5 each. Kukich was getting hungry, so he grabbed his wallet.
As Kukich was getting his money out, he overheard the soldiers whispering to each other. One soldier asked the other if he was going to buy lunch. The other soldier that $5 was too much for a little lunch sack, and he would just wait until they got to base.
There were still hours left of the flight, though, and Kukich hated the thought of these brave men going hungry.
“I looked around at the other soldiers,” Kukich said. “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.’”
The flight attendant immediately teared up when she heard Kukich’s request.
She explained that her son was fighting in Iraq, and it was almost like Kukich was performing this act of kindness for him. The flight attendant grabbed ten lunch sacks for the soldiers, and Kukich headed back to his seat.
After the flight attendant handed out the lunch sacks, she asked Kukich if he wanted chicken or beef. He was confused by the question, but he said chicken. The flight attendant appeared a few moments later with a meal from first-class. It was her way of thanking Kukich for his kindness.
Soon after that, the pilot came out to personally thank Kukich.
The pilot explained that he had flown planes in the military, and a civilian had once bought him lunch. He never forgot it. The pilot shook his hand, and everyone else on the plane applauded.
Many other people also thanked Kukich for supporting the soldiers. Over the course of the flight, three people handed Kukich $25 each.
When the plane landed, Kukich looked at the $75 in his hand and knew exactly what he wanted to do with it. At baggage claim, he went over to the soldiers and handed them the money.
“It will take you some time to reach the base,” Kukich said to them. “It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.”
Kukich walked back to his car, silently saying a prayer for the soldiers and hoping that they would be okay.
Kukich performed a beautiful act of kindness for ten brave soldiers, and we’re sure they’ll remember what Kukich did forever. We applaud Kukich for showing such compassion for a group of strangers!
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