Who Packs Your Parachute?

Charles Plum was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a fighter pilot in Vietnam.  On his 76th combat mission, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. The shocked pilot quickly gathered himself before parachuting into enemy lines. He was eventually captured amd spent a number of years as a prisoner of war. 

After the war, Charles Plumb became a highly sought after motivational speaker and he lectures frequently about the experiences of that fateful day and the dreadful years that followed.  One day, while Charles Plumb was dining in a restaurant, an unusual man at another table got up and walked across the room.  He approached Plumb’s table and said, “You flew jets off the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk before you were shot down!” 

Surprised, Plumb replied, “How in the world did you know that?”  “Well sir, “I packed your parachute,” the man replied.  Surprised and overwhelmed by gratitude, Plumb rose from his seat and extended his hand.  The men embraced.  Laughing, the man said, “I guess it worked.”  Plumb assured him, “It sure did – and if it hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here today.”   The men shared laughter and tears before parting ways. 

Charles Plumb never could get this man out of his mind,  He kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform and a dixie cup hat.  He wondered how many times he might have crossed paths with him on the Kitty Hawk. He wondered how many times he might have seen him and never acknowledged him with a ”good morning,” because he was a fighter pilot while the other man was only a sailor.

   

He thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the hot bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds & folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands, the fate of someone he didn’t know.  He never really thought about those to whom he entrusted his life on every flight  – the men that maintained and fueled the aircraft.  The young men that loaded his fighter with ammunition and ordinance.  The men that adjusted the arresting cables on the deck of the carrier.    

Every day, we come across people that have a profound impact on our lives and we don’t even realize it.  It could be the mechanic, who takes a moment to check your brake fluid after changing the oil in your car.   It could be the the man on the side of the highway that pulled over to remove a board that fell from a passing truck. 

The man that packed Charles Plumb’s parachute that morning had no idea if his work would ever be put to the test.  Even so, he did it right — every time.  Regardless what you do in life, you pack someone’s “parachute” virtually every day.  Do it well — every time — because one day, someone will be counting on you to do it right.

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