Once in a while, a small act of kindness can reverberate for a long time and can become an incredibly memorable event. The internet allows us to share our stories of giving and receiving such acts, which in turn can inspire a chain of kindness to keep going. One such story has been making the rounds time and again on the internet since 2016 and is a story that will touch the hearts of everyone who hears it.

It was another ordinary flying day for Denny Kukich until he came across an opportunity to carry out an act of kindness. During his flight, he realized that a group of soldiers had boarded the same flight as him and were on their way to being shipped out were on board. While the in-flight meal was ready to be served, he overheard the soldiers stating that the meal was too expensive for them. So he decided to chip in and buy the men at least a good lunch.

This may have been a small thing in hindsight; a soldier eating his lunch on his way to specialized training is an ordinary event after all, but the fact that Kukich had an open and loving heart for the men who were being deployed resonated with everyone on board, including the captain. Soon enough, Kukich’s thoughtfulness was multiplied by others on board, and it led to the soldiers having a truly memorable flight. This story is one that nobody on board would forget, and neither will the readers whose hearts are sure to be touched.

For Illustration Purposes Only (With Models) – istockphoto.com/mbbirdy

Kukich’s story was then published on Snopes and the Facebook page “Love What Matters.” As Kukich was getting ready to get settled on his assigned seat in the aircraft, the man noticed that there were some soldiers boarding as well. In fact, a couple of the men were seated close to him.

“Where are you headed?” he recalled asking the soldier seated nearest to him. “Petawawa. We’ll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we’re being deployed to Afghanistan.”

After about an hour of being airborne, a flight attendant made an announcement that they would be selling boxed lunches for five dollars each. With just a couple of hours left on the flight, buying lunch seemed like a good idea. As Kukich reached for his wallet, he overheard one of the soldiers asking his comrade if he was buying one of those packed in-flight lunches:

“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.”

Noticing that none of the soldiers were buying any food and thinking that some of them were really hungry, Kukich felt he needed to do something for them. He wanted them to enjoy the flight and not feel hungry at all. With this in mind, he walked his way over to the flight attendant and handed her $50. “Take a lunch to all those soldiers,” he told the flight attendant.

Overwhelmed by the man’s gesture, with teary eyes and joy in her heart, the flight attendant whose son was in the military at one point and was stationed in Iraq blurted,

“I feel like you are also doing it for my son.”

For Illustration Purposes Only (With Models) – istockphoto.com/Hispanolistic

Every one of the soldiers got their lunch, and out of gratitude, the flight attendant treated Kukich with an inflight first-class meal. But the story did not end there. When Kukich got up to use the lavatory, another passenger told him that he saw what he did and wanted to do the same and handed him $25, according to the story that was uploaded on Facebook.

When the pilot heard of Kukich’s action, he made his way to the main cabin looking for him.

“I wanted to tell you that I was once a military pilot and someone bought me lunch too and it was a gesture that I’ll never forget,” shared the pilot while extending his hand to shake the woman’s hand.

At this point, it seems like the whole aircraft has heard of the act of kindness and wanted to give back as well. And so, two other men handed Kukich another $25 each. With all the money he gathered, he approached the soldiers and gladly handed them the money.

“It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God bless you,” he said.

The story was narrated by Kukich to writer Beverly Brass according to the text on the Facebook page. Certainly, after such a memorable flight, the soldiers would have left feeling respected and loved. Small gestures like this can have a big impact, and everyone, from the soldiers to the flight attendant to the passengers, was part of a very special event.

For Illustration Purposes Only (With Models) – istockphoto.com/sebastian-julian

What did you think about this man’s actions? Would you have done the same? Let us know your thoughts – and feel free to pass this along to all your loved ones!