Blind

Every day some U.S. serviceman, coming out of battle or out of anesthesia, realizes that he is blind, that ahead of him stretches a lifetime of darkness. To the parents of one such blinded soldier Brigadier General Paul R. Hawley, chief U.S. Army surgeon for the European Theater, recently wrote a letter (published in the New York Herald Tribune) of classic directness.

"Your son has had his eyes seriously damaged in the war. . . . He has been confronted with the fear of blindness which he has faced with the same manly courage he had when wounded. . . . Everything possible has been done to save his sight, without success.

"The fear of blindness is a very real and ugly thing. Fear can only be overcome by understanding the thing that causes it. The fear of blindness is the fear of utter darkness, a physical darkness that leads to a darkness of the mind. It is also the fear . . . of helplessness . . . of loss of earning capacity. It is also a fear of loneliness, of sentimental pity, of being placed by one's friends in a world apart.

"We recognize and understand these fears and overcome them. That is done by training your son to learn to be blind. . . . The Government sees to it that he will get the best training available to teach him to read, to type, to walk around . . . and, particularly, to become experienced in one or more of the many ways a blind person can earn a living.

"This training . . . can be best done in a sort of school or college where others . . . are learning to be blind. . . . Haphazard and casual training in the home often does more harm than good. . . .

"The most important thing you can do when he returns is to treat him as naturally as you can. He does not want pity and sentimentality. He wants to do things for himself and the sooner he does these the more nearly normal you will all be. . . . Greet him as if nothing had happened. . . .

"I wish for you and for your son all success in your common task of overcoming his injury; and overcome it you can if you refuse to be defeated. He was not afraid when he gave his eyes for his country. You must never let him be afraid while he is getting his vision back through other faculties."

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