As the crowded airliner prepared for takeoff, the calm was shattered by the wild tantrum of a five-year-old boy. His frustrated, embarrassed mother tried everything to soothe him, but the boy only screamed louder and kicked the seats around him, much to the dismay of the nearby passengers.

Suddenly, from the back of the plane, an elderly man dressed in the uniform of an Air Force General slowly walked up the aisle. With a soft, reassuring hand gesture, he stopped the frazzled mother and bent down to whisper something into the boy’s ear, motioning toward the decorations on his chest.

Almost immediately, the boy stopped crying, gently took his mother’s hand, and quietly fastened his seat belt. The entire plane erupted into spontaneous applause.

As the General made his way back to his seat, one of the flight attendants, curious and impressed, approached him. “Excuse me, General,” she asked, “but what did you say to that little boy?”

The General smiled gently and said, “I showed him my pilot’s wings, service stars, and battle ribbons, and I told him they gave me the authority to throw one passenger out of the plane on any flight I choose.”