Touching photo shows one man's support for our military

There is a MIA memorial at SunTrust Park in Georgia, an always-empty seat which bears a plaque with this inscription: “Since World War I, more than 92,000 American soldiers are unaccounted for. This unoccupied seat is dedicated to the memory of these brave men and woman and to the sacrifices made in serving this country.” 

During the rainy Memorial Day weekend when the Atlanta Braves played the New York Mets at the park, spectators were asked to pause in honor of the sacrifices of the MIA military. The jumbotron allowed people to see the memorial and a Marine JROTC standing next to it at attention. That's when an unnamed man left his own seat and stood next to the high school aged cadet, sheltering him with his umbrella. 

Someone snapped a picture.

The Braves posted the photo on their Twitter page and it went viral. Tens of thousands of people have been touched by this simple act of support of our military. 

Woman sends her 10,000th care package to US military who would otherwise receive none

In 2007, Wisconsin's LeAnn Boudwine had two sons in the military. Like many moms, she sent them care packages filled with necessities, treats, and reminders of home. They appreciated the packages and looked forward to their arrival at regular intervals. And they noticed something - some soldiers didn't get any packages from home. None. They mentioned this to LeAnn.
 


She went to work. She gathered a few friends and they sent out some extra packages from LeAnn's home for those soldiers. Then they did it again, and again, reaching new soldiers each time. As they expanded their reach, they realized the true size of the need. LeAnn's effort had to grow outside her own small group of helpers. 

So she founded Support the Troops, WI, a 501(c)3 non-profit. Staffed by volunteers, many of whom are ex-military themselves, care packages contain donated candy, nonperishable food, activity books, DVDs, personal care items, and clothing. The 10,000th care package was mailed to a US military soldier serving overseas this month.  

Stranded soldier given plane ticket by Good Samaritan

Keaton Tilson is a 19-year-old Army mechanic stationed at Fort Hood. At the last minute, he was given leave for Memorial Day weekend. He hurried to the airport to try for a stand-by flight to see his family in Illinois. Two days went by - with the chaos of holiday travel, no flights had room for him. He started to lose hope.

That's where Josh Rainey came in. He heard Tilson's story at the airport and offered his ticket to the young soldier. Unfortunately, airline regulations won't allow exchange of ticket ownership so that was a no-go. Rainey called his wife and she agreed - Rainey bought Tilson a $350 round trip ticket. Tilson gratefully accepted the gift, and gave Rainey the only thing he could give: a heartfelt hug.

Tilson's family shared the good news with friends and neighbors and spread the story online. They want to make sure Rainey's kindness is acknowledged.

Kind-hearted boy donates his AFV prize to charities

Eleven-year-old Luke Finlan didn't know his mom sent a video of him crying during his fourth grade graduation to America's Funniest Videos. So he was extra surprised when he learned the video had reached the finals. 

Before the Albany New York region family flew to LA for the show's taping, Luke told his mom that he wanted to share his prize money with people who needed it more than him. He especially wanted to help veterans and people who are hungry. His mom contacted two local organizations, Soldiers Heart and Equinox. The folks at Equinox worked with Luke's mom to organize a fund-raiser as part of the 'viewing party' for Luke's AFV episode. That would multiply Luke's donation, funds Equinox could use for their Thanksgiving dinner.

The family sat in the audience as the videos rolled. Luke's video won first prize, $10,000. Now those two charities have benefited from Luke's generous heart.