The "Automotivation" program began eight years ago after the founder of San Antonio-based Operation Comfort talked with a soldier in Brooke Army Medical Center's burn ward.

Aaron Coates was so badly injured after a rocket-propelled grenade struck his fuel truck that the gear shift knob and steering wheel melted into his hands.

She said to Aaron, "What on earth can I do to make you use what hands you've got?" He replied, "If you put an engine block out there on that patio area I'd be working on it 24/7."

Now, a cadre of war-wounded veterans are determined to rebuild lives through the assembly of unique vehicles.

(READ the story in the Houston Chronicle)