Passengers were reportedly upset that the family was let off the plane first.
The father of a slain soldier killed in Afghanistan said their family was booed on a flight to meet his son’s body at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Sgt. John Perry was killed, along with Pfc. Tyler Lubelt, by a suicide bomber at Bagram Airfield last Saturday before the bomber could hit his target, according to reports.
His family was flying from Sacramento to Philadelphia, with a layover in Phoenix, but their flight out of Sacramento was delayed 45 minutes, reports said.
To help the family catch their connecting flight, the captain on the American Airlines flight announced everyone should remain seated and let them off the plane first, according to the Army Times.
Passengers on the plane were reportedly not pleased and booed the family.
“To hear the reaction of the flight being delayed because of a Gold Star family, and the first class cabin booing that was really upsetting, and it made us cry some more,” the Army soldier’s father, Stewart Perry, told CBS Sacramento.
American Airlines confirmed to InsideEdition.com that they held the flight that the family was on for 20 minutes to ensure the family made their connection.
Perry, a Marine veteran himself, said what his son did was heroic.
Read: Once a Marine, Soon to Be a Marine: Couple's Unborn Baby Salutes Soldier Dad in Sonogram
“[The bomber] would have killed possibly 100, 200, who knows?” Perry said “My kid was over there to help put a stop to this garbage, and he died,” he said.
Perry said in another interview that Americans need to do better.
“Generally, as Americans, we need to be more compassionate to each other and to understand and listen and just stay calm,” he said.
Watch: Daughter Adorably Kisses Veteran Dad as He Struggles With Stutter to Read Story
