Stranger buys $350 plane ticket for homeward bound soldier


Thanks to the kindness of a stranger, U.S. Army mechanic Keaton Tilson was able to spend Memorial Day with his family. Tilson was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, when he received last-minute leave before the holiday. He spent two days at a Dallas airport, hoping for a standby flight home to Illinois, when Josh Rainey offered up his seat. When the airline wouldn't allow an exchange, Rainey bought Tilson a $341 ticket instead. "If it wasn't for him," said Tilson from a family lake house, "I wouldn't be here right now."
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Christina Colizza is chief researcher and writer at The Week magazine.
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