Staff Sgt. Kenneth Ray Bradley, 5/23/2003

I'm sorry I'm behind on posting this one. It's been a busy few days.

A few nights ago I went back to Firehouse Subs. I go there because I love it that they give money to fire departments all over the country, and that they were founded by actual firefighters, who understand what it means to give the ultimate sacrifice.

I did the $10 gift card thing again. One of the guys who was working that night remembered me -- he was there the last time I did this, and he remembered that it was a soldier who had come in behind me.

I sat down and waited.

I'll be honest, I was not in a good mood. That's part of the reason I decided I had to do number 4 that night. I have recently been through a breakup, and frankly I just don't have much fight left in me. If ever there's a reason to do something for someone else, that's it.

It was just a matter of minutes before this guy came in. I couldn't really hear what they were saying at the register, but I think I heard him thank the employees, and I'm pretty sure he said that was pretty neat. I didn't see him open the card or anything, but he sat at the table in front of me, again, taking no notice that I was there. To me, that's the best part: Knowing that to the people who receive these gifts, it's about nothing but the guy in the card.

Kenneth R. Bradley was 39 when he died of a heart attack while serving in Baquba, Iraq. Originally from Utica, he was with the 588th Engineer Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas. He was Mississippi's fourth serviceman to die in the War on Terror.

A lot of media chose not to cover his death since he didn't die in combat, but in my eyes, he died away from his family, serving his country in a military career that spanned for almost half his life.

Bradley was also a musician. He was in a band for most of his adult life. "He was left-handed, he blew the trumpet and played the guitar," said his cousin, Cleveland Washington.

Bradley left behind his wife Claudia, his son Bryan, and his stepdaughter, Sandra Coleman.

He is buried at Killeen City Cemetery in Texas.

Army Cpl. Henry Brown, 4/08/2003

Today's random act of kindness was at Chick Fil-A, where I bought breakfast for a guy behind me in line. It just hit me as I was pulling up to the window that maybe I should do another favor for someone.

As I drove off, I tried to disappear in traffic, because I like to try to do these things anonymously, but the guy was behind me for a good way. I took a picture of his car in my rearview mirror to post here, but you could see the university stickers on my window in the picture, and they're pretty specific, so just take it from me. A guy in a silver car. He was eating chicken minis and drinking a Diet Coke.

This one was in honor of Army Cpl. Henry Brown. He was 22 when he died on April 8, 2003, from injuries he received in an enemy rocket attack south of Baghdad.  He was the third soldier from Mississippi to die in the War on Terror.

When Henry Brown left for the war, his mom made sure he packed his Bible. Every time they talked, she'd make sure he was reading it and saying his prayers.

"I didn't have him long, but I thank God for the years I did have him," said his mother, Rhonda James-Brown, 50. "I'm crying, but I have an inner peace. I just know that Henry is with the Lord and his grandma."

Brown graduated in 1999 from Natchez High School. He joined the Junior ROTC in high school, planning even then to go into the Army. He didn't do sports and activities, except JROTC.

But to his friends and former classmates, Brown was a valuable friend, a quiet, kind young man. He enlisted after graduation. Brown met and married his wife, JoDona, in the Army. They were married less than a year.

She was serving in Kuwait when he was killed.

It struck me as I wrote this that with so many of these soldiers, we talk about their high school activities in their obituaries, but that's because in so many cases, that's all the life they got to have.

They lived as boys and girls, but died as men and women, in a foreign land, for the freedom of others. On a meager salary, and  in most cases leaving parents to bury their children. And to the man, almost every fallen soldier's friends and family will tell you that they died doing what they loved, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

There is no greater love and heroism than that, is there?

Thank you, Cpl. Brown, for your sacrifice. We will not forget.

(The picture to the left is during a memorial for Cpl. Brown in Iraq.)

Army Spc. Larry K. Brown, 4/06/2003

Today I did my second random act of kindness for the troops, and it turned out pretty awesome.

First, let me tell you about Army Specialist Larry Brown.

According to USA Today and the Associated Press:
LaKeidra Davis remembers older brother Larry Brown’s passion for basketball and his sense of humor. 

 “He was very comforting at bad times. He always had the right thing to say,” said Davis, 16. “He used to make me laugh. ... He’d make a joke about anything; it would be so funny.” 

Brown, 22, a track and basketball athlete as a student at Bailey Magnet High School in Jackson, Miss., was killed in action in Iraq April 5. 

Davis said her brother seemed happy when he called her from Kuwait on March 12. 

“He was doing what he wanted to do,” said his mother, Rosemary Brown. “We were all proud.” 

Dorothy Terry, principal of Brown’s high school, also remembers his humor. 

“He was a kind of funny guy when he wanted to be,” she said. “But for the most part, he was a real serious young man.” 

 I went to Firehouse Subs in Flowood, MS, after a shopping trip, mostly because as a volunteer firefighter, I always try to support that business. You know, the brotherhood and all.

As I was getting out of the car, it struck me that this would be a perfect time for a random act of kindness.

I ordered my food, and then I bought a $10 gift card. I told the guy behind the register that in a minute I was going to give him a project. The staff exchanged confused looks, but then I put the gift card inside the Christmas card and explained what I was doing, with a little disclaimer about how I'm behind, so that's why it's still a Christmas card.

I asked them if they could just give the card to the next person who came in, and not tell them where it came from. The manager said they most certainly would, so I went to get my drink and as I was finding a table, three airmen from the nearby Air National Guard base came in. I smiled at the manager and said, "Well, that worked out pretty well."

The guy who ended up in line first was a young guy, probably about my brother's age. I tried to overhear what they were telling him, and I heard them all say, "Pay it forward," a few times, but I couldn't hear much else about the conversation. The guys went and sat at a table not far behind me, though, and I was able to listen to him read it out loud to the other guys.

It was really cool to know this one had gone to someone I know understands the sacrifice we're honoring here. I heard one of them say something about even using the same card when you pass on the random act of kindness, and I thought, "What a cool idea."

On the way home, I got big tears in my eyes, because I realize as good as this project makes me feel, what's more important to me is that these soldiers who gave us the ultimate gift are not forgotten. They were all brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, daughters and sons, and they all ate at places like Firehouse Subs and Heart & Soul Diner. They all went about their lives just like anyone else, but they were called to be something greater.

 (Photo by the Associated Press: Lt. Col. Lucius Wright, Ret., director of the U.S. Army JROTC for the Jackson, Miss., Public Schools System, pauses to extend condolences to Rosemary Davis, mother of Army Spc. Larry K. Brown, who was killed April 5 while fighting in Iraq. The memorial ceremony was Thursday at Bailey Magnet High School in Jackson. Brown, 22, was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment from Fort Riley.) 

 (As a P.S., the good folks at Firehouse gave me a gift card for a free medium drink because they appreciated what I did. That made me a little teary too. People really are good at heart, and really when you boil it down, most people want to be good to other people. You just have to give them a reminder and a chance. Thank you, Firehouse folks.)

John 15:13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that he would lay down his own life for his friends. 

We're on Facebook, too!

Hey everyone! We're on Facebook, so if you decide to take up the cause and pay it forward in the name of our troops or anyone else and you just want to share or give and get ideas, "like" us on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/RandomActsMississippi

Have a blessed day, y'all!

Marine 2nd Lt. Therrel Shane Childers, 3/21/03

Well, today I did my first random act. The holidays were busy and I found a million really lame excuses not to get started, but today I quit putting it off.

The first Mississippi soldier to die in the war on terror was Marine 2nd Lt. Therrel Childers. According to www.fallenheroesmemorial.com, Childers, 30, of Harrison County, Mississippi, was killed in action in southern Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif. Died on March 21, 2003.

He fell in love with the Marines at the age of 5, when his father, a Navy Seabee, took him on a visit to the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran.

"He saw those Marines in their dress blues guarding the embassy, and he wanted to be one himself," Joseph Childers recalls.

He was one of the first ground casualties of the war, killed on March 21, 2003, while leading his platoon toward an oil-pumping station in southern Iraq.

Here's another picture of Childers when he was a little older. The one in the photo on the Military Times site is obviously his high school senior portrait.

Today as I sat to eat breakfast, I thought about the fact I hadn't even started my project, and here we are, three weeks after I came up with the idea, and four days into the new year. My first five cards with the guys' information on them are all Christmas cards.

"No time like the present," I thought. I looked around the Heart & Soul diner where I was eating in Brandon, Mississippi. There was a guy happily reading a newspaper next to me, and a large group of folks enjoying each other's company on the far wall. At the bar, though (or whatever you call the bar at a place that's only a restaurant, and not a bar) was a lady who was eating by herself.

Seeing her there, I thought about the fact that I always eat by myself, and for a lot of different reasons. There are many people who eat alone, and I understand most of the reasons they do.

But something told me, "That's your first one."

So, seeing a sign on the table advertising $25 gift cards, I bought one, and stuck it in the envelope with the card about 2nd Lt. Childers. I gave it to the waitress and told her in short what I was doing.

"Take this to that lady over there, and don't tell her where it came from," I said.

I didn't watch the exchange as the lady used it to pay her tab, but the waitress was smiling, and I saw her carry the card out with her. I hope it made her day like it did mine.

I just thought about the fact that if I'd started this three weeks ago, the big tears of joy in doing something to make someone's life better might have subsided by now. But I sort of hope they never do.

Thank you, 2nd Lt. Childers. Rest in peace, and may God bless those who love you. Keep watch up there until we see you again.

What are we doing here?

I have started this blog for several reasons, and if you're reading this, you're one of them. 

On December 14, a horrible tragedy happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It broke the hearts of probably everyone in the nation. 

Today, Dec. 17, this post popped up on Facebook: My wife, son, and I approached the lady on the 7th aisle at Publix. I said, "You don't know us but we want you to have this. There's a note for you." She smiled and thanked us as I handed it to her and we began to walk away. She was genuinely touched as she read the note. She called out thank you to my wife to say thanks. I was nervous as I approached her, a complete stranger, to hand her the chocolates right out of the blue. Afterwards, however, I felt so happy because a tiny bit of the fear and a little bit of the anguish went away. The next thing happened when we bought a $10 gift card at McAllister's Deli and gave it to a couple in line before we left. They were obviously young college students and once again were extremely grateful. It had the same note reading you are #2. We were empowered and no longer helpless to the pain. Afterwards my 4 year old picked out a teddy bear to give to the local firemen as a toys for tots donation. To thank the firemen we are baking some cookies to take to them as well. Doing good and seeing the goodness in others is contagious. Please join us in this effort."

I think it's a beautiful sentiment. But to me, it seemed like something a lot of people will do, because there are children involved. So I'm taking it a step further. 

I know that plenty of people will get on the Sandy Hook project, but I'm doing this in honor of our fallen troops. For those who have given their lives willingly for our freedom. 

 I'm starting with the state of Mississippi, and once I have done one act of random kindness in the name of each Mississippi troop, I will pick another state, or possibly a branch of the military, or a special forces group, or something. 

But however it works, I will do this until I have done a random act of kindness in the name of every member of the United States military who has died in the War on Terror. It will take a long time. As of today, there are 6,625 random acts of kindness to be done. 

As I do these, I will post about them. Pictures of the soldiers, descriptions of the acts. I hope that you will take some inspiration from this project, and maybe do some of these in your state, or where you live. 

 God bless our troops, every one, and God bless America.