Last Saturday, dozens of Gold Star children – the kids of fallen service members – boarded a Florida-bound airplane headed for Disney World on a free trip on the Snowball Express, thanks to the combined annual effort by American Airlines and the Gary Sinese Foundation to honor the families of our fallen heroes.
And if that doesn’t get you, what happened before they even stepped on the flight definitely will.
Facebook user Jen Tringale posted a cellphone video to social media of the moment she saw the entire Nashville airport come to a total standstill for the National Anthem just as the kids and their families were about to board their flight.
“At the Nashville airport I walked out into the concourse to this scene @americanairlines was flying a plane full of children who had lost a parent in combat to Disneyworld on an all expenses paid trip and they threw a party for them at the gate,” Tringale tweeted.
"But when they announced them over the loud speaker and they lined up to board the plane the whole airport literally stopped and sang the national anthem with military present in salute. Most every person standing around, myself included was bawling at the sight of these kids and spouses who have paid so great a price for our country. To see all of this at Christmas time was so humbling. Seeing the general public in an airport stand still to honor these kids was simply beautiful.”
And since words alone fail to describe the utter beauty of the moment, here it is:
While some still kneel in protest during the National Anthem, these children, their families, and the amazing staff and customers at the Nashville airport remind us all once again of why we stand.