Brothers Jonathan and Stephen Full adore one another. They planned a delicious fried chicken dinner for their kids, so they took them and themselves to their local Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant around the corner. After ordering fried food, they carried it over to a table and sat down, which was when two United States military service members in uniform walked into the restaurant, prompting Jonathan to do something that very few people would do in America now.
Jonathan lost his stepbrother to suicide just a few weeks ago. The individual had died only last week, so Jonathan decided to do something nice for the troops in memory of the under-served veteran in order to honor his service. One of the reasons his stepbrother killed himself was because he had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after serving a tour of duty in the Middle East. He figured that since he did not get adequate mental health treatment after serving in the American military, like so many other veterans, he would end it all with a bang.
Jonathan went out of his way to pay for the military men’s meals in a show of gratitude for the American military and its service members.
Jonathan stated: “It’s always been on my mind to pay for some military members’ meals when I get the chance. It just hit me real good in my heart to do it then. And it just happened.”
Jonathan and Stephen were surprised when they saw more soldiers entering the restaurant. Jonathan couldn’t just buy a meal for the two of them – he would have to include everyone or none at all. So, he chose to use his money generously.
Jonathan recalled thinking, “Man is there a bus dropped off somewhere? Did we just hit the motherload here? What felt moving through my heart is I didn’t care if 200 more showed. I was still going to buy the meal.”
As Jonathan approached the cash register to offer his money to the service members, his brother took out his phone and started shooting photos. He wanted to immortalize Jonathan’s generosity in memory of the stepbrother who had perished.
As Jonathan greeted the military men, he stated: “Save your money for something more than just feeding yourself. Let us take care of you since you take care of us.”
More than just his brother was astonished by Jonathan’s generosity. His four-year-old son was equally inspired by his father’s act of trust in the armed forces.
“What are ya crazy!? There’s not going to be any food left!” the four-year-old said.
Ultimately, the Full brothers wrote their story so that it would inspire others to donate money or supplies to members of the military.
“The real hometown heroes are the ones whose meals were paid for,” Stephen stated.
Jonathan said, “A little random act of kindness never hurt nobody.”