( CNN ) -- At the start of the evening dinner rush on January 10 , a group of 13 is seated at an Applebee 's in Mason City , Iowa . Their waitress is new . She is nervous . She has never served a big group before but after a little reassurance she is ready . The 13 men and women , ages 25-60 , are dressed in flight suits from University of Iowa AirCare . They have just attended a memorial service for three colleagues killed in a medical helicopter crash on January 2 and have stopped for dinner before the long drive home . Dr. Azeem Ahmed , medical director of the University of Iowa AirCare program , said the deaths had hit the Northern Iowa emergency responder community hard . Russ Piehl and Shelly Lair-Langenbau , along with pilot Gene Grell , were killed just minutes after climbing into a Mercy Medical Center North helicopter to pick up a patient . Although the cause of the crash is not known , the Des Moines Register reports the helicopter hit the ground and burst into flames just 15 miles away from the hospital from where it had been dispatched . Radio Iowa said Grell was looking forward to being a `` husband in the near future . '' The paper described paramedic Piehl as a dedicated professional with a sense of humor . Nurse Lair-Langenbau was described by WHOtv.com as a `` hell of a nurse '' and dedicated mother to her two young daughters . More than 1,000 people including emergency responders , members of the public and family attended the service . `` It was somber , but uplifting , '' Ahmed said . `` It helped us all with the healing process . '' As the group finished their meals their waitress told Ahmed their bill will be `` very small . '' `` What do you mean ? '' Ahmed asked . The waitress handed the doctor a folder . Inside was a note on a napkin , written in capital letters . `` For all you do and in memory of your team mates ... This meal is on us . '' Ahmed said after reading the note he stood up and addressed the group , explaining what had just happened . Then he passed it around . Some had tears in their eyes . `` We were very moved and humbled , '' said Ahmed . `` We were overwhelmed . '' Jennifer Allen , Applebee 's associate manager , said the entire staff was overwhelmed , `` in a good way . '' On the drive home Ahmed said the conversation naturally gravitated toward the note . Each person , Ahmed said , committed to paying the good deed forward . Ahmed posted a photo of the note and a short caption to his Facebook page and on the Facebook page for University of Iowa AirCare . It received more than 2,000 shares , 12,000 likes and 500 comments . When asked why he shared it he said there were three reasons . First , he wanted to recognize the person , who wished to remain anonymous , in some way for her or his kindness . Second , he wanted to let emergency responders know what they do makes a difference and for them to feel the same support . Third , he wanted to honor those who died by motivating others to pay it forward . `` It 's motivation for myself and everyone who sees it to do something similar , '' Ahmed said . `` In the end , the people who died , this is the best way to honor them . ''
Stranger pays entire bill for AirCare team . The company said it was not aware of any other cases in which a customer had been charged more than $8,000 to cover the cost of an aircare team. Group was `` humbled '' and `` overwhelmed ''