Our Web Honor Roll of Supporters

Mr. & Mrs. Carl Campanaro – Midland, TX.

Mr. John W. Cooper – Midland, TX.

Disabled American Veterans -Tall City Chapter 58 – Midland, TX.

Abel Duran of Woofers & Tweeters/Crescent City, Midland, TX.

Mr. & Mrs. Wade Gamblin - Midland, TX.

R. K. Horton – Midland, TX.

John and Carolyn Kirwan - Midland, TX.

Dean Leyerly – Midland, TX.

Mr. Wayne McNew - Midland, TX.

Jeffrey E. Phillips – Washington, DC.

Mr. and Mrs. Posey - Midland, TX

A.C. Powell – Midland, TX.

Jack Schuler – Midland, TX.

Ed Cano - Midland, TX.

Falcon Veterans - Midland/Odessa, TX.

Sgt. Jimmy Haines - Midland, TX.

KWES / News West 9 - Midland/Odessa, TX.

Sara Larkin – Midland, TX.

Mike McCarty - Midland, TX.

Fast Signs – Midland, TX.

Dale and Stephanie Strauss - Midland, TX.

Lonnie Yee of Oil & Gas Data Processing, Inc. – Midland, TX.

Kathy Young - Midland, TX.

Young Professional Business - Midland, TX.

**************************************

We gratefully acknowledge

Golf Course Road of Church of Christ - Midland, TX.

For the generous grant to help past, present and future Veterans

from other Wars and conflicts.

For our mutual goal to support our troop from the "Past and Now" through our site, please send donations to: Soldier’s of Today and Yesterday – P.O. Box 4246 – Midland, TX. 79704-4246.

deliver the 100 wheelchairs to Brooke Army Med. ctr
for our wounded warriors. They set up at the 'Village.'

Ed, Ray and Jimmy turned around on Wednesday and

returned home. Whatever left over were given for the severe

wounded who are recovering and will be handed out when

they leave the hospital. Johnie and Lew came home Thursday

and their Mission was accomplished!!
Trailers donated to be used by Big Tex Trailer. 

Y'all are very much appreciated and our soldiers expressed

their appreciation as well.

Thank you to the following

sponsors for sponsoring this project:

Anonymous in Midland, TX. - $1,000.00 & $5.00
Connie and Polly Bean - $20.00
Big Tex Trailer - use of 2 trailers
SSG Brian and Palmyra Curtis - $25.00
Lynn and Susie Davis - Permian Printing - $135.00
Msgt. Art and Joyce Espinosa (USMC Ret.) - $135.00
Vera and Lewis Espinosa - $135.00
Robert Espinosa - $500
Fast Signs - 1 banner - $148.00
Ron and Christe Gasser - $135.00
Charles and Glenda Goss -
C. Goss Building & Repair -$135.00
Temple and Mrs. Guyse - $135.00
Oscar and Millie Hinojos - $135.00
Ray Horton - Permian Petroleum - $135.00
Major Faith Junghahn - $750.00
Rory and Chris Matthews - $200
Lois and Michael McCarty - $135.00
T.O. Midkiff - $300.00
Joe G. Mitchell &
the VFW Post # 6284 in Kermit, TX. - $100.00
Alice Murdock - 50.00
Charles Saint III - $260.00
VFW Auxilary, Midland, TX. - $270.00

Denzil and Kathy West - $500.00

Rig Power - $6,750.00
and Well Testing  - $6,750.00

Y'all are very much appreciated!!

Please stay tuned for updates.

- OPERATION WHEELCHAIR

and transfer Benches for

the shower -

At Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, there are hundreds upon hundreds of wounded Soldiers that have lost arms, legs, are blind and have massive burns.

When they are released from the hospital, the wheelchairs that they use while they are there, have to be left at the hospital; they belong to Uncle Sam.

The majority of them still need a wheelchair at home!

“OPERATION WHEELCHAIR” will fill this need of our Wounded Warriors. We, at Soldiers of Today and Yesterday, intend to fill this need. We will need enough funds to bring 100 new wheelchairs to them in San Antonio. The cost is $135.00 per wheelchair.

Please give what you can to help “OPERATION WHEELCHAIR.” This is a real and present emergency. Please send your tax-deductible donation to Soldiers of Today and Yesterday at P.O. Box 4246, Midland, TX. 79704-4246 or bring your donation to the KWEL Radio Station. You can make this also in memory or in honor of someone who have served our Great Nation.

For more information, please contact us at

432-631-3429 or email us at styveteran@suddenlink.net.

Johnie Lee Qualls finds his "calling" between a rock and a hard place - between wounded soldiers and their access to Veteran's Affairs benefits.

It's here that Qualls' nonprofit group, "Soldiers of Today and Yesterday," do their work.

That is if the vets even receive benefits - only 318,650 of the 1.7 million veterans in Texas receive disability or pension payments, Iva Jo Hanslik, Veterans Affairs public relations officer, said.  

Even if they qualify for benefits, it takes a year to receive the benefits after being released from government care, Qualls said.

Hanslik said that's true of soldiers wounded in training or just discharged from service, but if they're injured in combat, they have health care available immediately.

It isn't that simple - who or what at the VA determines the definition of injury can determine who gets benefits.

"I don't know one GI who received 100 percent of their benefits, ever," Qualls said. He said he's worked with hundreds of veterans over the years.

For instance, in 2003, Chris Buck was wounded in Iraq and dispatched.

The VA denied his case for post-traumatic stress disorder, but awarded him 10 percent benefits for his leg injuries that he's had six surgeries on. Even that wasn't right away, he said.

Buck received a letter in the mail from the VA stating they couldn't give him benefits for the post-traumatic stress disorder because it couldn't be proven to be real.

"I laid on floor and lost control of faculties because I got so upset. I'm glad no one was in the room - I might have hurt them," Buck said.

Buck can barely walk because he can't feel his right leg. Four years later he received his scooter from the VA so he could get around, he said.

A retired Vietnam veteran himself, Qualls, recently made his first trip to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio.

"I ... met with troops, saw thousands of wounded soldiers, and came back with a mission to bring 100 wheelchairs to troops," he said, tears coming to his eyes. "It's hard to make an old man cry."

When they're released from the hospital, the wheelchairs used at Brooke must be left behind, because they belong to Uncle Sam, Qualls said.  The veterans usually can't afford their own wheelchair until their benefits kick in.

Qualls met his goal in less than a week. He said he'll now raise his goal to 125 wheelchairs, and add 75 transfer benches, which help move wounded soldiers from the wheelchair to a bathtub.

This isn't the only mission Qualls and his nonprofit organization have embarked on.

In April 2005, Qualls started a website for veterans so they can share experiences, past and present battle stories and emotional trails.

Around Christmas 2007, Qualls rounded up 5,000 cards to send overseas. Even more, he helped procure some war equipment - ballistic glasses to protect the eyes from explosions, 600 pairs of socks, "knuckle-buster" gloves and ballistic seats for Humvees to protect bodies from explosions - to send as well.

Qualls said he lacked support in Vietnam - he couldn't talk about the war when he came home, nor did he receive any packages or letters while over there, except for one comforting letter from his sister.

He, too, fought a war in which the nation didn't entirely support the cause. "We were spat upon, kicked at, called baby killers. We became the villain," Qualls said.

 He said he'll do what he can to give the support that he lacked.

"I promised myself that if we ever had another war, I would make sure those kids felt support," he said.

Hanslik at the VA said they're working to make the system more efficient. Wounded soldiers can now receive a "pre-discharge physical," which expedites the process, she said.

"We've added staff to reduce the wait time," she said. "We're working towards a seamless transition."

Hanslik said the VA is happy to have organizations like Qualls' to help the troops.

"My heart goes out to them - we can never do enough for our veterans," she said.  

Qualls said he still has nightmares from Vietnam, so he knows what modern military personnel are going through.

"When God sent them to war, that was how he made them - they return how war left them," Qualls said.

Buck has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by his VA psychiatrist, and five years later, he's still fighting the VA for benefits to pay for the five pills a night he has to take to sleep through the nightmares.

"I'm going to continue to fight," he said.