BOB JOHNSON
Age: 33
Hometown: Glenwood Springs, Colo.

Epiphany: Dec. 23, 2004. The single dad was missing his 2-year-old son Bobby, who was spending Christmas with Johnson's ex-wife. Drinking beer and feeling down, he watched a special on soldiers in Iraq—and got a reality check: "I don't get to see my kid for a week. They don't have any control over when they'll see their kids."

What He Did Next: Operation Vacation, which Johnson started in August 2005, awards three-day weekend getaways to soldiers on break from or finishing tours of duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Soliciting in-kind donations from area businesses, Operation Vacation has treated 20 military families to holidays worth $3,500 each in this resort town famous for its hot springs.

Personal Touch: Johnson, a real estate broker, works through Fort Carson Army base, which selects eligible soldiers. After greeting each family, Johnson stays out of sight—unless, as happens, he is asked to babysit. "Bob is one of a kind," says Steve Gaylord, who skied with his daughter for the first time when the family got away between his two Iraq tours. "It feels so good to be appreciated."

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For more information on Johnson's work, go to www.operationvacation.org

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