8-year-old Myles Eckert was with his mom at the Cracker Barrel when he found a $20 bill in the parking lot. He ran back into the restaurant and gave the twenty to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey, a uniformed solider he spotted in the dining room. He wrapped the money in a hand-written note:
Dear Soldier — my dad was a soldier. He’s in heaven now. I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It’s your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid.
Then Myles asked his mom to take him to the cemetery, so he could spend some time alone with his father.
Lt. Col. Dailey told CBS News he looks at the note from Myles every day, seeing “a lifetime direction” in that little scrap of paper. “Dailey says he’s already given away that $20 and plans to do much more,” according to the CBS report. “He also hopes that little green Post-It will inspire other people across the country to give… to give as sincerely and dutifully as that father and son.”
May America mourn the loss of Army Sgt. Andy Eckert in Iraq, and celebrate the gain of his son.