He fought for our freedom, now a disabled Nebraska veteran needs help gaining his independence. The lift on his van won't accommodate his wheelchair.

A lookout in Vietnam, Joe Cook spent days hiding in the jungle. “You're pretty much expendable. You let the base know, then you're on your own."

Years later, he's feeling isolated again. “I got $5,000 sitting in the snow and not going anywhere.”

Joe says a service disability caused his weight gain and the VA bought him a motorized wheelchair. And taxpayers will give him a lift so he can drive as well.

“Give him a van that he can use that's accessible for his chair and himself so he can have some freedom," says volunteer Lisa Jaskulski.

But the manufacturer warns that the van Joe purchased won't work. “The manufacturer saying they don't recommend his chair being put in that vehicle because it's too large," says Bill Siebert of Siebert Mobility.

As he sits in his Wahoo home looking at the van he can't drive, Joe wonders if he'll ever use his keys to freedom. Joe says a miscommunication with the installer led him to buy a $5,000 van he can't drive.

“I'd like to get out here and make believe I'm going somewhere. I keep thinking someday maybe something's gonna happen and I'll be able to drive it."

Lift installers at Siebert Mobility are determined to get Joe safely behind the wheel of his van. “Absolutely, there's got to be a solution to his problem,” says Siebert. “We need to give him his independence and get him back out there on the street."

Thankful to taxpayers for his wheelchair, Joe has the drive to go beyond his parking lot so he's hopeful a lift installer can give him freedom of the road.

Installer Siebert Mobility will send a driver to pick up Joe's van this week. While they're hopeful a lift can be safely altered to fit Joe's van, if that doesn't work, the company will help the disabled vet find a larger vehicle.