A helping hand for Air Force vet

VICTORVILLE Sounds of power tools and hammers interrupted a small neighborhoods solitude as roughly a dozen Home Depot employees and veterans came together to help retired U.S. Air Force veteran Ralph Quintana add on to his home.

Quintana, who served two combat tours in Vietnam, said the new facility on his home will serve multiple functions, including physical and occupational therapy and a meeting room for veterans, Vietnam support groups and Disabled American Veterans (DAV) meetings.

We appreciate everything, Quintana said. It brings tears to our eyes.

Quintana was nominated for the restoration project by DAV Commander Richard Valdez.

The nomination process, which took approximately three months to complete, resulted in the Home Depot Foundation selecting Quintana.

With the help of volunteers from DAV Chapter 92 and Home Depot, Quintanas new addition is nearly complete.

Victorville Home Depot cashier Malcolm Dohi went to Quintanas home Friday to help build the add-on facility, which will be finished sometime next week. He added that he has traveled all across the High Desert to work on similar projects.

Were always helping veterans, said Dohi. Its nice to help out people. It does make you feel good that youre doing good for the community.

Some of the volunteers in attendance were Ernest Bockhorn, Gene Hendrix and Harvey de La Torre.

Les Nichols, who was also one of the DAV members in attendance, said there is always a need to help disabled veterans.

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A helping hand for Air Force vet