When you see a servicewoman in uniform board an airplane, you might be tempted to thank her for her service. There are even stronger ways to express your gratitude; actions really do speak louder than words.

A woman named Jessica Titus recently witnessed a beautiful act of kindness towards our military personnel. They were both headed toward the coach; that’s not surprising. First-class can get awfully pricey, but, as Titus looked on, a man who was sitting in first class looked up at the soldier.

A man, who remains anonymous, had been sitting in a first-class seat when he noticed a female army officer heading for a middle seat in coach.

He immediately got up from his seat and said, “Sorry, ma’am, I’m in your seat.”

The woman, who also remains anonymous, says that there’s no way he could be sitting in her seat because her ticket says 31B, a middle seat in coach. He walked away, leaving the army officer with a new first-class seat while he took hers in coach.

This was a true act of gratitude; her seat wasn’t a window or an aisle seat. It was in the middle, which is, as everyone knows, the least comfortable seating assignment in every row.

Titus watched the whole scene play out. She was impressed. She was inspired. She wanted to let the man know that his act of kindness had not gone unnoticed, so she concocted a plan to send him a small gesture of her pride in his action.

She prepared a note for the man now sitting in 31B.

The note said, “Please accept a drink or snack on me. If everyone treated people the way you treated the service-woman, the world would be a better place.” The man respectfully did not accept her money, but he did express just how grateful he was that he was able to inspire someone else to pay it forward.

“Do good. Recognize good. Make the world better,” Jessica ends on Facebook.

The post on the Love What Matters Facebook page has since gone viral, garnering almost 40,000 Facebook reactions, almost 300 comments, and just over 3,000 shares. Many people have been sharing their thoughts on the beautiful story, some of them even sharing their own experiences of someone doing this for them.

Such a wonderful series of events that warm the heart. Our servicewomen and men deserve all our admiration and respect, and I’m so glad a good samaritan recognized that on this flight.

Sources: Taphaps, Relativelyinteresting, Apost