9 Year-Old Boy Who Donated Disney Trip to A Killed Soldier’s Family Wins Vacation of His Own

9 Year-Old Boy Who Donated Disney Trip to A Killed Soldier's Family Wins Vacation of His Own

Nine-year-old Brendan Haas, who spent three months trading things so he could win a vacation to Disney World and then donated it to a girl whose father was killed in Afghanistan, was surprised with his own Walt Disney World trip.

To reward Brendan for his generosity, the Disney Company awarded his family with an all-expense paid trip of their own, and made Brendan an "honorary citizen of Walt Disney World."

But instead of accepting the trip, Brendan said he wanted to give it away again and that he'd be able to find another family of a fallen soldier who deserves it.

His mom, Melissa Haas, said her son's response even surprised her, but she never puts anything past him.  "For a 9-year-old to get that opportunity and to have a response like that, it's amazing. We say it's like having a 40-year-old in a 9-year-old's body. I am very proud," she said.

In February, Brendan set up a page in Facebook and labeled it "A Soldier for a Soldier," hoping that he could trade his toy soldier for a trip to Disney World to give to an unfortunate fallen soldier's family.

Brendan said he posted his toy soldier one night, finding out the next morning that people immediately responded with hundreds of offers. He swapped through a NASCAR toy, a weekend ski vacation, and just before Memorial Day, he got what he wanted: an all-expenses paid trip to Disney World.

The boy then put a bunch of names of military families that he'd gathered from Facebook into a hat, and pulled out the name of 2-year-old Liberty Hope Steele, whose 25-year-old father - Army Lieutenant Timothy Steele - was killed last August in Afghanistan.  Brendan soon surprised her family with the trip to Disney World.

Posted by James Fried on Friday June 01 2012, 3:03 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0