A good Samaritan named Josh Rainey spotted a young soldier waiting to fly standby at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport ahead of Memorial Day weekend, several news outlets reported. What Rainey didn’t know was that 19-year-old U.S. Army soldier Keaton Tilson, who is stationed in Fort Hood, had been trying to fly standby for two days. It was the first trip Tilson would make home since leaving at Christmas. The soldier was not given approval to travel for the weekend until the last minute.
Rainey noticed Tilson and offered to trade plane tickets so the soldier could fly instead, according to local news station KVTI. Airport staff said such a switch was not possible since there were other customers on the standby list ahead of the soldier.
After calling his wife to discuss, Rainey purchased a $341 ticket to St. Louis, Missouri, so Tilson could be reunited with his family.
We love a happy ending!!