This is the story some would call a good deed, I call it paying forward.
This whole story started out as a random trip to Cumberland Farms last year around the time of midterms. I started to look around to see what junk I was going to shove into my mouth because I hadn’t eaten in around 16 or so hours.
There were two older gentlemen searching for snacks as well. I looked at their baseball caps and one of them read “US Marine Corps” the other had read “US Navy Seal”, I then proceeded to ask the two gentlemen if they were in the armed forces. They had told me this story:
“Oh yes, we were! We were both stationed towns away from each other and met at a bar one night. Bob (the gentleman in the Marines hat) had begun explaining to me that he was from Worcester, MA. I found that intriguing because I was too from Worcester.”
I then asked Fred (the gentleman in the Navy Seals hat): “Is that how you two became friends, and are here today?”
Fred replied: “We were not friends just yet, we were acquaintances. The friendship came along when we were forced into the Vietnam war and I was blasted with bullets to my left leg.”
Jaw opened and in shock I asked, “If you don’t mind me asking, do you still have your leg sir?”
Fred continued saying: “No I lost my leg that day…” he paused and continued “Bob came over and saw me struggling and noticed that I was the fellow from the bar that he had met. Bob took me by the hand and lifted me over his shoulder to take me to safety. That is how we became friends dear.”
I was shocked, I couldn’t imagine getting shot at and almost losing an entire limb! During this whole story Fred was tearing up. I looked at my watch and apologized and said “I’m sorry to cut your story short sir, but I have a midterm exam to get to. But I would like to thank both of you gentlemen for your service, and thank you for allowing me to live another day!”
The men both waved as I made my way to the counter. My items were rung up and I started to look around waiting for my boyfriend to finish getting his snacks. The lady then proceeded to ring up Bob and Fred’s items, and Bob noticed that he had forgotten his wallet in the car. As they left to go get his wallet, I handed the cashier money to buy their drinks and chips (the only items they were purchasing). When the men walked back in I had given them the bag with their drinks and chips and told them to have a wonderful day and insisted that they accept my gesture. I said “I know you didn’t walk outside just to get out of paying for your food, but this is just a minimal way that I would be able to thank you for your service, I would not be able to do what you did for this country.” They looked at me with teary eyes and thanked me.
I’m not sure why every time I tell this story people tell me that I’m a great person. Yes, I was raised in a house full of people that served our country. I think that is one reason that I had done what I did, I would hope that if someone ever saw my uncle or my grandfather at a store wearing their uniform or even a military hat, that they would get praised for their service. So please if you take anything away from this article please thank any military service member for their service. Without them, we would not be able to be looking at facebook right now or this article.
