[Blindvet-talk] Re Blinded Soldiers

[Elizabeth Rene]

Congratulations and kudos to those blinded soldiers who have found a place 
to continue serving in the Army to live out their calling to serve our 
country.

And thank you to them and to all veterans who have served and are recovering 
from wounds incurred overseas.

You have all given a great deal, and you have my respect and gratitude for 
your sacrifice.

Blind from birth, I have never served in the military, and must say that I 
don't support war as a matter of principle.  But no person of feeling and 
intelligence can minimize the impact of military service and combat upon 
another human being, and no one should fail to honor someone who has risked 
and suffered injury to serve his or her country.  Those who carry on in 
spite of their wounds and reshape their lives in the face of lost faculties 
are an inspiration to me.

I have always liked my life as a blind person, having had the good fortune 
to be doing the work I've always wanted to do.  But to lose one's sight 
traumatically and then to find ways to live out one's dreams is a true 
grace.

It occurs to me, finally, that if the Army is finding success in placing 
blinded soldiers in Stateside posts, then why shouldn't blind and low-vision 
civilians who want to serve in the Army also join?

The men featured in the article are showing that they can perform 
competently in non-combat positions and command respect.  Skilled blind men 
and women with a lifetime of experience in living well without sight could 
do the same, and prove to the newly-blinded soldier that the future is worth 
living for.

Warm regards to all,

Elizabeth