Honoring our servicemen

Kalan and his mom, Tammy Trammel, were eating lunch at Ken and Mary’s for his 12th birthday. Kalan noticed there were three Army men eating lunch.

"I had never seen any Army men eating anywhere and I decided to buy their lunch, because they are fighting for us. I figured the least I could do was buy their lunch."

He asked his mom if he could use his birthday money to buy lunch for the three men and went over to their table and picked up their tab.

Sgt. 1st Class Greg Thompson, who has served 23 years in the military, said they are used to adults offering to buy their meal, but "never, out-of-the-blue from a 12-year-old. His mom cried like a baby."
Kalan said that he watches the news and just wanted to show his appreciation in some small way.
Thompson and the other two officers, Sgt. 1st Class Russell Thorington and Sgt. Randy Hicks were really caught off guard by the 12-year-old.

"We knew that we had to do something else for him," said Thorington, who returned in September 2006 after a year in Iraq.

"It makes us feel proud and makes us feel that what we are doing is appreciated," Thompson said.

They gave Kalan a camouflage National Guard backpack filled with school supplies with the National Guard logo, playing cards and other fun stuff.

Kalan will be in the 7th grade at Crest Middle School. His father, Scott, wasn’t with them that day, but he’s also proud of his son.