What is Memorial Day about, really?

Keaton Tilson is only nineteen years old. His family lives in Granite City, Illinois, but he joined the Army and has already been trained as a mechanic. He's on active duty at Fort Hood, Texas, and he probably misses his folks. He must have been thrilled when, at the very last minute, he received permission to fly home for Memorial Day. Apparently he could not afford a full-price ticket, but he went to the airport in Dallas anyway, hoping to fly standby.

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All departing flights to St. Louis (near his home) were fully booked, and after waiting in the airport two days of the three-day weekend, he began to lose hope. That's when Josh Rainey met him. Rainey, who is 35, was also flying to St. Louis, and had a ticket. When he heard Tilson's story, he offered to give him his ticket. Tilson had hope, until airport authorities explained that their policy prevented people from exchanging tickets. But Rainey didn't give up. He called his wife, and they agreed to buy a separate ticket for Tilson. It cost them $341, and how did Tilson respond? "He walked away, and came back and asked if he could hug me," Rainey said. "It was pennies on the dollars compared to what I got back from that hug."