A Boy Found $20 In The Parking Lot. What He Did With It Is Unforgettable

March 1, 2014

Lt. Col. Frank Dailey was eating lunch at a Cracker Barrel at the same time 8 year-old Myles Eckert came in with his family. Myles was super excited after finding a $20 bill in the parking lot. To an 8 year-old, that's like winning the lottery.

He planned on buying a new video game, until he noticed Daily in his uniform. At that moment, everything changed.

"Because he was a soldier, and soldiers remind me of my dad," Myles explains.

Myles wrote a note for Daily and wrapped the $20 bill inside.

"Dear Soldier -- my dad was a soldier. He's in heaven now. I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It's your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid."

boy gives note to soldier
CBS News

Myles' father was killed in Iraq just 5 weeks after he was born. All he has left of his dad are pictures and his imagination.

After lunch that day, Myles asked his mom to make one more stop. He wanted to go see his dad. And he insisted he went alone.

boy gives not to soldier
TIFFANY ECKERT / CBS News

His mother took this photo from the car. She overheard him talking to the grave stone, telling his dad what happened at Cracker Barrel.

"I look at it every day," Dailey says of the note Myles gave him. "A lifetime direction, for sure."

Source: CBS News / On The Road