The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-04-25

One of the sightless soldiers ex-
planned 1t this way:
Most people only see where
they're going. We have to know
our way around"
The Job of guaranteeing that each
of the 40-odd blind casualties Of
this war now at Valley Forge will
know his way around" inside and
outside Of the hospital, is the job
of q specially trained staff Of some
is blind and sighted people at the
hospital.
70 Blinded So Far
The program is still in its begin
ming phases, for, according to the
latest figures released by the War
Department, only 70 soldiers have
been totally blinded so far in this
war.
But 1t. Col. James N. Greear,
Jr., former Washington, D. c.,
surgeon who heads the Opthal-
mology department at VFGH,
warns that "the real fighting has
not started YET.
Valley Forge, as one of the two
hospitals designated as Army CEN
tiers for the Blind, is the recipient
of 60 per cent of the casualties in
this field. Most of its patients are
from the European area or the
continental United States.
The blind at Valley Forge are a
mixed group. They're the heroes
and the men who never got into
enemy action.
Awarded the DISC.
They're soldiers like PFC. Ray F.
Villeneuve of Topper Lake, N. Y,
who didn't think he was getting
enough action in his job of inter-
prefer in the Ell Guettar campaign.
Villeneuve obtained permission to
man a forward machine gun under
intense enemy fire. He drove the
Germans back. Then, in a subse-
Quent German counter attack,
Villeneuve was blinded by an ar
tillery burst. He holds the Distin-
guished Service Cross. And has
four brothers now in the service.
Other overseas victims are: Cpl.
Walter c. Wotjas Of Cleveland, O.,
who got his" in Tunisia; Pvt.
John r. McCaulley, "a, Of Fall
River, Mass, a casualty from
Sicily, and PFC. Andrew Kundla,
%, of Scranton, Pa.
Many of them are soldiers who
never got chance to go over, like
Sgt. Noble M. Master, Is, of YER
non, Tex, who was blinded in an
explosion at a training camp.
But no matter how they were
blinded, the boys are planning for
the future.
vil2enueve explained how they
felt:
I'VE don't want to be given a
bonus and then Just sit around for
the rest Of our lives. We are going
to learn some job and earn a lV-
ing at It,"
Taught to DO for Selves
Getting the soldiers ready to
earn O living is the biggest job of
the Valley Forge staff.
From the first day a soldier en-
tiers, and after the best surgical
and medical care have failed to re-
store his vision, he is taught to
"do for himself"
Contact man between the hospi-
tai and the new patient Is Ray
mond T. Frey, 26, former Army
lieutenant from Lebanon, Pa, who
is doing one of the outstanding
rehabilitation jobs of the war.
The big six-footer knows every
fear of the newly-blinded. He
knows the feeling that the world is
composed entirely of steps to fall
down and door jarabs to run into.
For Frey lost his sight in q prema-
ture mine explosion in Colorado
after serving 81 months.
At Valley Forge, Frey's job is to
give the patient confidence and
helm him realize that it is possible
to "see" with the mind instead OF
the eyes.
Help Overcome Fears
There are certain fears all
rlewly-b blinded have" Frey ex-
r,Ioi,1ad "srhe fear of darkness, of