Posted on 04/09/2009 7:28:20 PM PDT by Dubya
D/FW AIRPORT — Alan Burks invited himself on this flight, the one that took off in the early afternoon Wednesday bound for the Middle East.
On board the American Airlines 767 were 2 tons of supplies from the nonprofit he started in memory of his son Pete, an Army platoon leader from Dallas killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007. No way would Burks miss the chance to go and mingle with the troops. He took Pete’s younger brother, Zac, with him to share in the experience.
"He’s more than ready," Zac Burks said. "This has been his job basically since Pete was killed — raising money to support the troops and Iraqi children. This opportunity was a dream come true."
It is an unusual journey for American Airlines, which had never devoted an entire plane to donated supplies for a war zone. But the airline has increasingly been providing air support to related causes through its 2-year-old Veterans Initiatives program.
This just happened to be the biggest yet.
The 767, with a crew of four pilots and six flight attendants, all of whom donated their time, carried more than 20 tons of supplies for Iraqi children and several dozen entertainers from Dallas-Fort Worth to Kuwait City.
From there, the cargo and passengers were taken by Air Force aircraft into Iraq, where soldiers and Marines can take the notebooks, pencils, white boards and soccer balls to schools. Also packed on board were more than 6,000 pairs of Crocs donated by the shoemaker.
(Excerpt) Read more at star-telegram.com ...
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A majority of the cargo came from Operation Iraqi Children, an organization established by actor Gary Sinise and author Laura Hillenbrand to provide basic school supplies. Palmersheim met Sinise not long ago, and the idea for the flight took shape.
Thanks for the ping.
Wonderfully generous and honorable contribution by American. Kudos to them.
BTTT
What a beautiful tribute to an American Hero......now he is touching thousands of Iraqi children and is remembered by people across the USA. I believe he is smiling up in heaven at how this all came together!
Indeed, thanks for the ping
THANK YOU for the ping to this beautiful and inspiring story!
Bookmarked. Thanks!
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