A Veteran's Day Story

I believe people come into our lives for a reason, and so it was with Bob. He was to be one of my bosses at my job in Sunnyvale CA. I didn't like him. At all. No way. He was aloof and cocky. And kind of weird.
I complained often about him to our director Al, but he said to just hang in there, Bob brought special knowledge and talent in to our group.
Those were the days of Desert Storm. Some of our people were overseas to help with the operation over there. When the war was over and our employees came home and a return to work date set, we tied a giant yellow ribbon around the building and a big welcome back party was planned. As I was leaving to attend the celebration, Bob was hanging back. When I asked if he was coming, he said no. I asked why and his eyes teared up. He said "I'm glad for them but I just can't. I was never welcomed back when I came home from Viet Nam."
My heart absolutely shattered into a thousand pieces. I was guilty. I'd been one of those war protestors in my very early teen-age years. Here I was, seeing a direct result of what we had done.
After that I made a point of getting to know Bob. Turns out his plane had been shot down over enemy territory. With no one to save him and nothing but his smarts, a little luck and a lot of grit he made it back to safety. This was a man who almost gave his life for his country and no one had even thanked him. As we continued to work together he became one of my favorite people.
Time passed, our company was sold and most of us lost our jobs. I married and moved to Missouri, but I still kept in touch with Bob occasionally by email.
One Veterans day I received one of those chain emails, but this one was a bit different. It talked about our brave soldiers and the sacrifices they had made. The email concluded by saying "send this on to one of our hero Veterans if you know one."
This was my chance to right my wrong. I forwarded it on to Bob, and started the email by letting him know that he was MY hero, and I meant every single word of it.
Bob wrote back, saying "Siouxsan, THANK YOU. This means more to me than you will ever know."
I was so glad to maybe give him some relief from long-held pain.
After that I lost contact with Bob. I hear he's doing well in his new job, that his wife and daughters are also doing just fine. It's really not necessary to keep in touch with Bob any longer, for I believe the purpose of our friendship had come full circle.
Thank you, Bob, for your brave service to our country. And to all the vets who have served or are serving now....THANK YOU. I learned to say this because of one very special person, for which I will be forever grateful.