Pilot Delivers Letter To "Heaven" For Boy"s Fallen Soldier Dad

UPDATED: Fri., Feb. 1, 2013 3:34 p.m. EST

MacAidan Gallegos was just five years old when his father was killed in Afghanistan in 2009.

Four years later, 9-year-old ‘Mac’ had a special request in honor of his father’s birthday on Jan. 24 . He wanted to write his dad a letter that would be delivered to him in heaven, KTUU reports.

“I wanted to write a letter because I wanted to know more about my dad and to show that I didn’t forget him and to show that I also love him,” Mac, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, told the news outlet.

Amanda Marr, Mac’s mother, posted her son’s wish on Facebook and was soon contacted by Helping American Veterans Experience Alaska (HAVE Alaska), a nonprofit that organizes and funds fishing and hunting trips in Alaska for injured veterans. The organization connected Lt. Col. Brian Baldwin with the family to fly the letter as high as his F-22 aircraft would allow, according to ARPC.

PHOTOS: Tech. Sgt. Dana Rosso. Story continues below.

The letter read:

“Dear Dad, I have some questions. What is it like in a tank? What is like to be a scout? How old are you now? How old were you when you died? What is your favorite food? What is your favorite animal? What is your favorite hobby? What is your favorite activity? What is it like in heaven? Have you seen what I have accomplished? From, your son.”

“It is an honor to fly with Mac’s letter,” Baldwin, a reserve F-22 pilot, assigned to the special mission told the ARPC. “His father gave the greatest sacrifice to our country and I am humbled to be able to do something for him and his family.”

The flight took place on Jan. 24 , what would have been his father’s 31st birthday, according to the news outlet.

Baldwin’s orders were clear.

“I said ‘I hope he gets as high as he possibly can,’” Mac said he told Baldwin after giving him the handwritten note on red construction paper, his father’s favorite color.

Mac’s father, Army Staff Sgt. Justin Gallegos, was a decorated soldier. He was deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan where he earned more than a dozen medals including three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, as described in a congressional recognition.

In the past, Mac has celebrated his fallen father’s special day by baking cupcakes and hosting birthday parties, his mother told ARPC.

“As Mac has gotten older we have turned it into a day where we do ‘Acts of Service’ for others,” she told the news outlet, “It is important for us to remember Justin and celebrate his life.”

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• Started A Youth Soccer Program In Haiti

  When a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/14/kona-shen-soccer-inspires-haiti-youth_n_899410.html#s309105″ target=”_hplink”Kona Shen/a, 23, saw the energy that Haitian children had for sports, she realized that she could utilize that energy to make a difference. She founded a href=”http://goalshaiti.org/” target=”_hplink”Global Outreach And Love of Soccer/a, or GOALS, which works to provide youth leadership, community development and environmental awareness through sports teams and summer camps.

  “Kids here don’t even need a ball or cleats to excel in soccer,” she said. “They have a chance when playing soccer to really excel even when they have no resources … it’s a really powerful way for kids to regain and maintain normalcy in their lives.”

  To get involved, a href=”http://goalshaiti.org/howtohelp/” target=”_hplink”click here/a.

• Wrote An Advocacy Book About Epilepsy

  For as long as he can remember, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/18/huffpost-greatest-person-evan-moss-epilepsy_n_901987.html” target=”_hplink”Evan Moss/a has been suffering from epileptic seizures. One semi-successful brain surgery and thousands of seizures later, Evan, now 7, wrote a book about his epilepsy to raise money for a seizure dog, which will alert help if Evan is having a seizure.

  To buy Evan’s inspirational book, My Seizure Dog, a href=”https://www.createspace.com/3626033″ target=”_hplink”click here/a.

• Started A Food Bank For Pets

  When a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/05/georgia-man-starts-nonpro_n_996562.html” target=”_hplink”Tom Wargo/a first introduced the idea of a food bank for pets, food banks thought he was crazy. Now he gives away 600,000 pounds of pet food a year at his four Georgia locations — while managing to help food shelters focus on what they do best: feed people.

  “[People are] not going to let their animals starve, they’re not going to kill them at the pound, so they’re going to feed them, just like if you have kids.”

  To learn more about Wargo’s pet food banks or get involved, a href=”http://daffyspetsoupkitchen.info/” target=”_hplink”click here/a.

• Founded The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association

  In 2004, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/10/greatest-person-of-the-da_10_n_781843.html” target=”_hplink”Paul Rieckhoff/a, an Iraq War veteran, founded the a href=”http://iava.org/” target=”_hplink”Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Association/a. The nonprofit is the nation’s largest for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, with some 200,000 members — and focuses on awareness, advocacy and assistance for soldiers returning from war.

  “I had the support of my family, but I still felt alone as an Iraq veteran,” Rieckhoff said. “And I didn’t want others to feel the same.”

  To get involved, a href=”http://iava.org/take-action” target=”_hplink”click here/a.

• Tours The Country Speaking Out Against Bullying

  a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/13/woman-and-dog-with-simila_n_1009024.html” target=”_hplink”Gabrielle Ford/a suffers from a degenerative neuro-muscular disorder that weakens her body’s muscles. It’s an illness that she tried to hide for many years. That changed when she got a dog, Izzy, who was eventually diagnosed with a similar muscle-degenerating disease. Having been a victim of bullying, Fords toured the country with her dog, speaking out against bullying, and inspiring others to do the same.

  “I didn’t plan on affecting people, it just happened with the life story or hand I was dealt,” Ford said, “One person said, ‘you didn’t find your meaning and purpose in life, it found you and you’re a hero to thousands of students bullied in American schools every year.’”

  To buy Ford’s book and donate to her cause, a href=”http://www.gabeandizzy.com/” target=”_hplink”click here/a.

• Started ‘Pay What You Can’ Panera Bread Restaurants

  a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/15/huffpost-greatest-person-ron-saich-panera-cares_n_877691.html” target=”_hplink”Ron Shaich/a, founder of a href=”http://www.panerabread.com/” target=”_hplink”Panera Bread/a is more than just a fast food mogul. In the last few years, Shaich has opened three Panera Cares restaurants, built around a “pay what you can” model.

  “A lot of investors really didn’t like this idea back then,” Ron said. “But I saw it as a vehicle to, shall I say, serve real food to real people. At the time, fast food had basically become self-service gas stations of the human body. We wanted to give people food they could respect.”

• Helps Feed Hungry Childen

  a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/03/greatest-person-of-the-da_6_n_778520.html” target=”_hplink”Bruno Serato/a is known for more than just serving celebrities at his Anaheim, Calif. restaurant, a href=”http://www.anaheimwhitehouse.com/” target=”_hplink”Anaheim White House/a. Instead, he’s made a name for himself feeding “motel children” free pasta seven days a week.

  On average, Serato and his restaurant feed about 150 children, and have given away 245,000 meals to date.

  “A customer once asked me, ‘Bruno, how can you afford to do this?’ I said, ‘How can I afford to stop?’ This is my passion. If I could not do what I do every day, I’d be devastated.”

  To help Serato feed hungry children, he asks that pasta donations be brought to his restaurant, or visit the nonprofit he began to help raise funds, a href=”http://www.thecaterinasclub.org/” target=”_hplink”Caterina’s Club/a.

• Helped Build A School In Kenya

  Officially, a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/09/margo-mcauliffe-retired-t_n_955932.html” target=”_hplink”Margo McAuliffe/a has long been retired. But in reality, she’s nowhere close to retirement. When she finished teaching high school math in 2003, she took a trip to Kenya and decided to help fundraise for a new school there. A million dollars later, McAuliffe had helped build a school. So far 17 girls have graduated high school, and 46 more are expected to graduate next year.

  “It gave me helpful insights. I took away that I — we — need to appreciate the education that we have here.”

  To get involved and see the school’s progress, a href=”http://kenyahelp.us/home.html” target=”_hplink”click here/a.

• Helps Answer Letters To Santa At Christmas

  Thousands upon thousands of Christmas wish lists addressed to Santa make their way to a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/25/pete-fontana-santa-brings_n_1166911.html” target=”_hplink”Pete Fontana’s/a hands each year. He is the “chief elf officer” at the New York post office, where he readies the letters for donor pick-up, then delivers the presents that volunteers bring back.

  “That’s the best part, is meeting these people,” Fontana said. “They energize me.”

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Pilot Delivers Letter To "Heaven" For Boy"s Fallen Soldier Dad