Donors Chip Away at Injured Veteran's Car Repair Bill

The veteran called Bob's Motor Workshop with a direct request. He had an SUV that needed major repair work, but he wouldn't have the money for a few months. He asked the owner, Mike Bonnell, if he could pay the bill in installments.

The vet, who lives in Milford, is a Purple Heart recipient for injuries he received in Afghanistan when a homemade bomb exploded. After talking to him, Bonnell agreed to repair his 12-year-old vehicle and work out a payment plan. If he could, he said, he would have just covered the bill himself.

He posted briefly on Facebook about it, and his followers started chattering about it. And then they started contributing money toward the man's $800 bill. Within two days, all but about $200 of the man's car repair bill had been covered, Bonnell said.

"Money is tight for everyone but when this gentleman asked if I could cuff him the repair on his bill for a couple of months - OF COURSE I SAID YES...," Bonnell wrote.

When the veteran comes in on Tuesday, planning to make his first installment payment, Bonnell said he expects the bill to be paid in full. The vehicle needs more work than has been done, he said, so the man can either finish it all up now, or Bonnell will give him the extra cash that's come in. As far as he knows, he said, the man doesn't know about the donations.
 
Bonnell didn't expect the reaction to his Facebook post, but called it "something beautiful."

Some of the donors contributed $20. One man walked into the shop on East Main Street this week with $100. None of these people know the customer, Bonnell said.

Said one man, on the Facebook page: "Come on people. it is Christmas. Let's do it. Bob please post success back on this thread. Give what you can. Call it your secret Santa gift for this year."