At a time when many companies put American flags and “we support our troops” slogans on their advertising, food giant H.J. Heinz of Pittsburgh opted for less fanfare and more substance. According to Jack Kennedy, Heinz’s general manager of strategic communications, on April 5 the company Gulfstream IV flew the family of ex-POW Jessica Lynch from the U.S. to Germany to be with their daughter.

 Heinz CEO Bill Johnson explained why Heinz footed the bill for the charitable GIV flight. “We’re located in southwestern Pennsylvania and Jessica is from Palestine, West Virginia, so we consider her to be from our neighborhood,” he told AIN. “We’re very proud of her. She’s not just a local hero but a national one. We just felt that given the circumstances and all that her family has been through, it would be appropriate for us to make our aircraft and crew available to them.” On board the aircraft were Lynch’s parents, two siblings and a cousin. Universal Weather & Aviation donated flight-planning assistance to the Heinz flight department for the trip.