'My dad was a soldier. He's in heaven now': Touching note of thanks that the eight-year-old son of dead Iraq veteran handed to soldier in restaurant along with $20 note

Myles Eckert, eight, found the cash in the parking lot of Cracker Barrel on February 7

Instead of buying a video game, he gave it to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey who was eating at the restaurant

He said in a note that Dailey reminded him of his deceased dad who was a soldier and his family liked to 'pay it forward'

Army Sgt. Andy Eckert was killed in Iraq, just five weeks after Myles was born

When eight-year-old Myles Eckert found $20 in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, he didn't spend it on a video game - he gave it to a soldier to thank him for his service.



Myles was just five-weeks-old when his father, Army Sgt. Andy Eckert was killed in Iraq.

In honor of his dad's memory, the Ohio boy wrapped the money in a touching handwritten note and handed it to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey who was eating lunch at the restaurant:

'Dear Soldier - my dad was a soldier. He's in heaven now. I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It's your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid.'

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Touching: Myles wrapped the $20 in this handwritten note and gave it to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey

'It's your lucky day!' Instead of spending his windfall on a video game, Myles (left) gave the cash to Lt. Col. Frank Dailey (right)



CBS News reported the young boy was excited when he found the cash on February 7 and began planning what he could spend it on.



'I kind of wanted to get a video game, but then I decided not to,' Myles said.

He changed his mind when he saw the officer in uniform, 'because he was a soldier, and soldiers remind me of my dad.'

For Dailey, who was stationed at the Ohio Air National Guard base near Toledo, the honor was overwhelming.



'It's incredible being recognized in such a manner,' he said. ' I look at it (the note) every day.'

Dailey said the gift, which he gave away, provided him with 'a lifetime direction, for sure.'



He told CBS News he hopes the little green Post-It will inspire other people across America to give as generously as Myles.



Tragic: Army Sgt. Andy Eckert was killed in Iraq, just five weeks after his son Myles was born

Devastating loss: Army Sgt. Andy Eckert got to meet his newborn son Myles before he was tragically killed in Iraq eight years ago

While little Myles was too young to remember his dad, he has learned a lot about him from stories, pictures and dog tags.



'I imagine him as a really nice person and somebody that would be really fun,' Myles said.

The boy's mom, Tiffany Eckert, said after her son gave away the money he found, he wanted to visit his dad's grave site.



'He wanted to go see his dad,' she said. 'And he wanted to go by himself that day.'

Eckert captured the moving moment the little boy hugged his dad's gravestone, showing that the soldier's legacy lives on in the good deeds of his kindhearted son.

Devastating: Myles's dad died just five weeks after he was born, but he stays connected to the soldier through pictures, stories and regular visits to his grave site





