Evening star., 1945-02-04
Tbe Sunday Sta1
25 LegIess and ArmIess Veterans Learn
To Drive at Walter Reed, Will Teach Others

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armless boys from Walter Reed
Hospital drive. He is just as good
maybe better-at driving than you.
The hospital has just graduated
rs servicemen-five of them with
amputations-from a course for
driving instructors. The Is came
from seven amputation centers
throughout the country. They will
return to these stations this week
to teach disabled men like them
selves to run a car along country
road again. Walter Reed Hospital
will keep four of them to teach its
own classes.
Two Of the veterans, First Sergt
Melvin Saunders, "a, of Hollywood,
Calf, who lost his right hand and
forearm and damaged the nerves in
his right leg in France last June,
and 1t. Aldo S. Romiti, "a, of Ore
gon, who lost his right leg above.
the knee 20 months ago on Attu,
took Star reporter driving yes
terday after their last class at the
Iconvalescent section of Walter Reed
Hospital at Forest Glen. A civilian
instructor, Joseph Miller came too
He has been teaching veterans
classes at Bushnell General Hos
pital in Brigham City, Utah, for the
last 10 months.
Lost Both Legs
Although Joe Miller has never had
a uniform on, the veterans boast
about him-because he lost all but
a few inches of both legs several
years ago and yet can stop a car 80
per cent quicker than the average
driver. If Joe can drive, SO can we,
the veterans say. He is their ex-
hibit A.
First the boys held the door open
for the reporter to sit in the front
seat OF an American Automobile AS
sociation dual-control driving in
struction car. The AAA has worked
closely with the Surgeon Generals
Office in launching the retaining"
program for disabled veteran driv-
ers.
Legless Joe Miller drove first. He
has enough strength to push the
brake and clutch pedals with his
artificial legt leg. He sometimes had
to lift his artificial right leg back
on the accelerator pedal If he let
1t slip of at stop sign. That was
the only difference between him and
the ordinary driver. 1t. Romiti took
his turn next. He too occasionally
let his artificial right leg slip of the
gas pedal and quickly bent down to
lift it back.
Sergt. Saunders has hook where
his right hand was before Friday,
June l3, in France. Using this
hook, he shifted gears as smoothly
as the other two. Although the
nerves in his right leg are damaged,
he has learned to push the gas
pedal with it. His left leg opefates
both the clutch and the brakee.
Fear Legal Bans.
These servicemen drivers face
the open road and the family car
with only one fear. They are AFRAID
the 48 States will begin to pass laws
that disabled veterans must have
special gaogetS" on their cars be-
fore they can be issued a drivers
license.
They may want to 'gadget' u.s.
1t. Romiti said. I'VE want to show
them we can do just the same
maybe better as the ordinary
driver, with no special laws or pre-
cautions
The course given these embryo
instructors was designed to prove
their normalcy. They must change
a tire, stop the car quickly, shift
gears and steer smoothly They are
trained on safety principles: sig
mailing, railroad crossing stops and
not passing on hill. At first, the
instructors said, they will try only
to refrain" veterans who drove be-
fore they were wounded. Then they
want to start on wounded service
men who never drove before.
Teaching man to drive again
may take a little longer than it took
him to learn to drive the first time"
1t. Romiti said. But he'll be
better driver-and happier, more
normal boy-when we get through"