MINERAL WELLS —
Two men on a cross-country trip in a 1916 Model T Ford stopped Wednesday at the National Vietnam War Museum site and VFW Post 2399 in Mineral Wells as they try to raise support for Disabled American Veterans.
Jesse Cole, driving his rebuilt 94-year-old car, and James Whitcomb, following in a support vehicle, began in May from Massachusetts, drove to California, where they met Jay Leno, and are on their way back.
They were headed to Carl’s Corner, south of the Metroplex, when he saw a sign for Jesse’s Drive-In as he entered Mineral Wells and stopped for a “big ole Texas hamburger” and a strawberry milkshake at the restaurant that shares his name, Cole said.
After meeting people at the VFW post, Jim Messinger, treasurer of Friends of the National Vietnam War Museum, showed them around the memorial site.
Whitcomb said he spent 22 months in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps. After serving three tours, he returned home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The good friends decided to tour the U.S. in Cole’s Model T, which doesn’t travel much faster than 35 miles per hour and needs an oil change every four days, to raise money and awareness for the DAV.
In Arizona, Cole and Whitcomb stopped to meet a veteran who owned a Model T and found out he was using a cheap pair of hearing aids because the Veterans Administration wouldn’t help.
Whitcomb said he referred the man to the DAV for assistance in meeting his hearing needs.
The two settled in at Best Western Inn and Suites for the evening and Cole hoped to be able to play the guitar and sing songs he’s written about veterans at the VFW.
For more information about the men’s trip or to donate, those interested can visit www.dav.org/modelT or www.ultracite.com/modelt/jessepage.html.
Staff writer Christin Coyne can be reached at (940) 325-4465, ext. 3428, or ccoyne@mineralwellsindex.com.
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