He is willing to step up to honor his country and defend us all, this lone Marine at Las Vegas airport. He seemed a proud young man, very quiet, and very last in the boarding line.

There was a sign on your check-in desk offering open boarding positions A1-15… for a price. I have no problem with that. Nor do I have a problem with the way Southwest customarily treats soldiers. I’ve witnessed many, many times, crew and passengers recognizing and applauding military personnel. But somehow I felt this time an opportunity was overlooked.

How much would it have cost Southwest to move this admirable young Marine to one of those 15 empty spaces at the front of the line? We all know that would be nothing. It would have had no monetary value or loss to you but so much value in the eyes of your customers. We would have happily given him our boarding position but he was not on our flight. So why didn’t Southwest step up this time? We noticed him, why didn’t you?