ROMULUS, Mich. – US Airman 1st class Cody Bradshaw has served in the Air Force for a year and Saturday was the first time the 26-year-old Saginaw native has been able to come back home.
“The Next few days, I’m just enjoying the holidays, going and seeing all my family friends, and then just enjoying some time off,” Bradshaw said on Saturday after his flight arrived at Detroit Metro Airport.
Bradshaw was able to come back home today thanks to called “Miles for Military.”
It’s a non-profit that lets active duty service members trade volunteer hours at a charity of their choice for flights they often would not be able to afford.
“I originally heard about it from some of my wing men,” he said. “They were actually able to get tickets for themselves, and then they told me about it, and I kind of looked up their website and looked into it, and it was super easy.”
The organization, which is in its third year and is based out of Massachusetts, was started by Maureen Byrne, whose son, Ronan, is a now-retired marine.
“One particular Thanksgiving, the ticket from North Carolina to Boston was almost $900 and I was like, ‘how do people afford to send their kids home?” Byrne said. “He says, ‘Mom, nobody goes home.’”
The money for the tickets comes from individual donations. Byrne says that miles for military has paid for more than $1 million in plane tickets so far and the response is growing.
She says that military members are volunteering with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the Humane Society, and the USO.
“I mean, there, there are people that donate $5 a month like but they don’t understand that every dollar goes to a ticket, and it’s been amazing for these kids.,” she said. “Last year, I think we flew around 60 or 70 kids home, especially around Christmas, Thanksgiving.
“This year, we’ve done 10 times that, over 600 kids,” she said. “This year and next year, our goal is at least 5,000.”
One of those people this year is airman Bradshaw, who was picked up and headed off to Lansing, where his family now lives.
Days like today mean so much to Maureen Byrne.
“People love the idea of helping your junior enlisted,” Byrne said. “I mean, they give up, you know, their lives to serve us.”