Lt. Col. Dan Rooney was on his way home from his second tour of duty in Iraq when his life changed.

Waiting at Chicago’s O’Hare airport for a lift to Grand Rapids, Mich., Rooney walked onto United Flight 664 and saw a corporal sitting in first class. When the plane landed, the pilot got on the intercom and Rooney found out who the corporal was.

“He announces that we are carrying the remains of Corporal Brock Bucklin on this flight, who had been killed in Iraq, and his identical twin brother, Corporal Brad Bucklin, was in first class,” said Rooney, the guest on this week’s GOLF Subpar podcast. “And I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff in combat, as we do as vets, but I’ve never seen that side of war. And I remember watching his whole family, the darkest night of their lives, his brother’s walking out on the tarmac, his parents, his wife, and he had a 4-year-old son. And I’m the proud father of five, and I think from a parent’s perspective that’s what really got me.”

Walking off the plane, Rooney said he “felt the hand of God.”

His idea to start Folds of Honor snowballed from there; he talked it over with his wife and soon the movement was launched. Now, nearly two decades later, Folds of Honor has given out more than 86,000 educational scholarships valued at nearly $400 million to spouses and children of fallen or disabled military service members and first responders. (Golf remains a major focus, pillar and fundraising source, too.)

“We all want purpose,” Rooney said. “That’s why I started this thing. What are you willing to die for? What gives meaning to your life? And that’s been the great gift of Folds of Honor to all of us who are in its orbit, to feel that purpose of being a part of something bigger than yourself and supporting these military families.”

You can listen to the complete interview with Rooney here, or watch on YouTube below.

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