Known as Project Gemini and initiated in May 2011, the six-day educational exchange program enables the sharing of knowledge, insights, and friendship. This year’s trip across the Atlantic Ocean will also include BVA Executive Director Al Avina.

Project Gemini began successfully in May 2011 as a joint venture between BVA, headquartered in Washington, DC, and Blind Veterans UK.

This year’s trip for the Americans will again feature discussions about blind rehabilitation and readjustment training, vision research, and adaptive technology for the blind. The BVA group will tour London, visit with Parliament members, and meet senior government officials. They will practice shooting with air rifles, engage in blind archery, and enjoy blind bowling. They will also visit with rehabilitation personnel having backgrounds in vision research, best practices, and rehabilitation training of British service member who have lost their sight.

During the exchange, both groups of veterans will share helpful hints about coping with blindness and the “war stories” that are part of the adjustment processes. They will compare the VA system in the U.S. with its dozens of component medical centers, outpatient clinics, and veterans’ homes with that of the British veterans’ health care system.

Also accompanying the U.S. contingency is Army veteran and BVA Director of Government Relations Dr. Tom Zampieri, also legally blind. Active duty Army Captain Ivan Castro of Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Corporal James Nealey of Nampa, Idaho; and Sergeant Sean Johnson of Aberdeen, South Dakota, round out the OIF participants. Corporal Don Overton of Palm Bay, Florida, a Desert Storm war blinded Army veteran injured in 1991 in Iraq, is the Gulf War participant.

Project Gemini is an outgrowth of Operation Peer Support, a BVA program begun in 2006 that brings together veterans of recent conflicts with those who have lost their sight in Vietnam, Korea, and World War II. The objective of the program is to provide veterans who have lost their sight recently with opportunities to interact with men and women who have led happy and prosperous lives despite their blindness and who can serve as role models and mentors. The cornerstone of this effort is to increase support for eye wounded service members in the transition from the military o veteran status.

In 2008, BVA sponsored the participation of three British service members from across the Atlantic at its 63rd National Convention in Phoenix. Project Gemini returned the favor with the 2011 trip to England. Blind Veterans UK, known as St Dunstan’s until February 2012, traces its founding back to 1915 shortly before the outbreak of World War I. BVA was inaugurated on March 28, 1945 when a group of war-blinded servicemen met at Old Farms Convalescent Hospital near Avon, Connecticut.

The bill, introduced by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) on March 21, would help nonservice- connected blinded veterans attend a residential Blind Rehabilitation Center when they would otherwise be unable to afford to do so.

“Being able to submit this testimony was a big step forward in securing a hearing that will focus solely on S. 633 and its impact on our BVA constituency,” said Tom. The May hearing reviewed the large spectrum of pending health care legislation of which S. 633 is a small but significant portion. Two different panels included VA Under Secretary for Health Robert L. Jesse, Deputy Assistant General Counsel Susan Blauert, Former VA Chief of Staff Thomas Bowman, and representatives from four Veterans Service Organizations.

A second pending beneficiary travel bill, S. 455, would authorize VA employees to drive VA vans to transport veterans to local health care appointments.

To be enacted, both S. 633 and S. 455 must also be passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the President. According to Tom, once the official VA witnesses have stated their positions on the bills, BVA will have a better idea of how to approach and explain to House members the importance of the legislation to the nation’s veterans.

Blinded Veterans Association Testimony [doc]

The visit came about after a conversation in May 2012 between Air Marshall Evans and BVA Director of Government Relations Dr. Thomas Zampieri at Moorfields Eye Research Centre in London. Dr. Zampieri was accompanied at the time by a small contingency of blinded veterans from both the U.S. and the United Kingdom participating in Project Gemini, a joint Transatlantic exchange initiative of BVA and Blind Veterans U.K.

Left to right, BVA Executive Director Al Avina, Air Marshal Paul Evans, and Director of Government Relations Tom Zampieri.

The setting for the conversation was a series of briefings to the group by British ophthalmologists and ophthalmology researchers. The presenters discussed their recent experiences with the war eye injured.

As a means of furthering Project Gemini’s goal to foster positive relationships between the two allied countries, especially among the eye injured and their families, Dr. Zampieri invited Air Marshall Evans to visit BVA National Headquarters the next time he was in Washington, DC. The invitation was not forgotten in the intervening months.

Air Marshal Evans was accompanied on the visit to BVA by Colonel Katherine Richardson, appointed in October 2011 as the British Liaison Officer (Deployment Health) to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and to the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. She is a Dentist with both clinical and staff experience in the Firm Base and on operations.

Air Marshal Paul Evans was born in 1954 and joined the Royal Air Force as a Medical Cadet in 1975, qualifying in Medicine at the Welsh National School of Medicine in 1978. He completed appointments as a junior Medical Officer at RAF Wyton and in the RAF Hospitals at Ely, Nocton Hall, and Halton before being appointed as a Senior Medical Officer in 1983 and undertaking tours at RAF Leeming, Coltishall, and Valley. He studied for his Diploma in Aviation Medicine in 1987. From 1990, he undertook staff appointments as Command Flight Medical Officer at RAF Support Command, the Officer Commanding the Medical Wing at RAF Hospital Wegberg, and Medico-Legal Adviser to the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport before attending RAF Staff College in 1996, where he was Course Leader.

In July 2008, Air Marshal Evans took up appointment as Chief of Staff Health and Director General Medical Services, Royal Air Force, where he was responsible for all RAF Medical Service personnel and the health, well-being and healthcare of RAF personnel and entitled civilians. He was appointed as Commander of Joint Medical Command in September 2009, where he was responsible for areas including Secondary Healthcare and Commissioning, Defence Dental Services, Ministry of Defence Hospital Units, Defence Postgraduate Deanery, Medical Research, the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, and the Defense Rehabilitation Medical Centre Headley Court, and the Defence Medical Services Training Group. In April 2010, the Headquarters of Joint Medical Command moved to Defence Medical Services (Whittington) where it co-located with Headquarters Surgeon General.

Air Marshall Evans was selected as Surgeon General and took up appointment in December 2012 in the rank of Air Marshal. As Surgeon General, he is the senior officer responsible for the end-to-end delivery of healthcare to service personnel and entitled civilians in the home-base and on operations.

“We are honored and gratified by the visit of Air Marshal Evans,” said Dr. Zampieri. “We appreciate his support of the eye injured and their families in both countries and his concern for their challenges not only in adjusting to vision loss, but in facing the formidable challenge of transitioning from the military into veteran status.”

Learn more about Blind Veterans UK and BVA’s recent initiatives with its British counterpart. 

Peter and Mary McKenna on August 27, 2010 at BVA 65th National Convention in Arlington, Virginia.

Peter first became active in BVA in 1948 at age 24, organizing the District of Columbia Regional Group in 1949 and serving as its first “chairman” for two years while pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree in sociology at The Catholic University of America in the Nation’s Capital.

Following a year of service as National Treasurer in 1950-51 and continuing as chairman of the regional group, Peter was elected BVA National President at age 27 on August 11, 1951 at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston, site of the Association’s Sixth National Convention. He was preceded in the presidency by such notables as Raymond Frey, John Brady, Thomas Hasbrook, and George “Buck” Gillespie. At the time of his election, Peter’s son, James Joseph, was 19 months old and his daughter, Libby, was just seven months old.

Even after serving in positions of national leadership at a young age, Peter remained active and served blinded veterans in his regional group almost continuously. He was the Minnesota Regional Group Chaplain for the better part of two decades until his passing.

Peter and Mary, his wife of nearly 64 years, attended national conventions whenever possible. One of their most recent trips to a convention occurred with the historic 65th gathering in Arlington, Virginia, in August 2010.

Peter also presented BVA’s ceremonial wreath at The Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day 2011. He was one of the few BVA World War II members able to personally attend the World War II Memorial dedication in the Nation’s Capital in May 2004. He was accompanied on the trip by Mary and other family members.

Peter was born in Washington, DC, on August 24, 1924. He graduated from St. John’s College High School in 1942 and enlisted in the Army. He was assigned to Patton’s 3rd Army, 8th Infantry Division as anti-tank gunner. He sailed to Europe on the Queen Mary, landed in Normandy, and fought his way through France, Luxembourg, and Belgium to Germany in the Battle of the Bulge.

BVA Director of Government Relations Dr. Tom Zampieri with Peter McKenna at historic 65th convention.

On April 2, 1945, while serving as a squad leader in Kassel, Germany, a tank shell exploded in his face and he lost his eyes and two fingers. After being awarded the Silver Star and two years of hospitalization, Peter enrolled at Catholic University. With the help of readers provided by the Veterans Administration (now Department of Veterans Affairs), he graduated with honors in 1952. While at the VA hospital for additional plastic surgery, he charmed his nurse, Mary John, and they were married in June 1949.

Following Peter’s tenure as BVA National President, the couple relocated to the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. In the next 11 years they opened a Catholic gift shop in the city of Richfield and had seven additional children while Peter earned a Master’s Degree in psychology at the University of Minnesota.

In 1966, with the help of his children, Peter began operating a convenience shop at the Minneapolis City Hall. The store served the needs of Minneapolis city employees. In 1977, he became a full-time benefits counselor with VA until his retirement in 1989.

Peter enjoyed traveling by car, plane, and ship. He was active in the International Friendship Force and traveled overseas to Europe, Asia, and South America. He was also enthusiastic about local camping trips in sub-zero temperatures with Boy Scout troops. His obituary reported his dedication as a popular merit badge counselor for the three Eagle-required citizenship badges.

The BVA Bulletin of the early 1950s included a section entitled “Message from the President” similar to the “President’s Page” of 2013. Peter’s columns were without platitudes. They were business-like and proceeded point-by-point with advice and instructions to blinded veterans and their families on what they could do to improve their personal situations and contribute to BVA’s growth and progress.

Early Bulletins also contained a page entitled “Bulletin Board” in which members could make announcements and communicate information to their fellow blinded veterans. While many entries are humorous and highlight personal accomplishments and events, Peter’s entries are invariably focused on issues affecting blinded veterans. In one such entry in the August 1948 issue, he expressed concern that new talking book machines issued by the Library of Congress were equipped with just one speed, which would “eliminate the use of any musical records we are interested in playing.”

In addition to Mary and eight of his nine children, Peter is survived by 19 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the McKenna family requests that memorials be sent to the Blinded Veterans Association.

Acting under the general supervision of the National Director, the NFSO is responsible for providing assistance to blind and visually impaired veterans, informing them of federal, state, and local benefits and available programs. The NFSO acts as a role model for other blinded veterans, encouraging them to enroll in blind rehabilitation training and assisting family members in coping with sight loss and in understanding the value of rehabilitation.

A Bachelor’s Degree in a field such as counseling, blind rehabilitation, or social work is preferred for the position. Education may be substituted with three years of additional training or work in a closely related field. The candidate must be a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, legally blind, and should have completed a training program at a Department of Veterans Affairs Blind Rehabilitation Center. A working knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook is also required. The NFSO must have excellent written and oral communication skills,  be proficient in Braille, and/or proficient in the used of special aids or equipment for the blind and visually impaired that allows composition of correspondence and report writing. The candidate must also have excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and proficiency in mobility.

Cover letters and resumes will be accepted via postal mail or email until April 19. Please send to the following:

eeckroth@bva.org  

                or

Blinded Veterans Association
Attn: Mr. Edward Eckroth, FSP Director
477 H Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

The organization also expressed strong support for a companion bill, H.R. 1284, introduced by Representative Julia Brownley (D-CA-26) later the same day.

The two bills stipulate that Section 111 of Title 38 of the U.S. Code be changed to read that “any blind or spinal-cord injured disabled veteran may receive travel benefits when accepted for admission to a specialized VA rehabilitation program.” The benefit would cover transportation costs to any of the 13 VA Blind Rehabilitation Centers (BRCs). Veterans in this category are currently required to pay their own travel expenses for admission to a BRC.

Immediate out-of-the-gate co-sponsors of the Senate bill included Senators Max Baucus (D-MT), Mark Begich (D-AK), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

“Enacting beneficiary travel legislation would greatly help many of our low-income disabled veterans experience a potential life-changing event by getting them to a blind or spinal cord-injury rehabilitation center in a much more timely fashion,” said BVA Director of Government Relations Dr. Thomas Zampieri. “Our nation’s heroes who have lost their sight should not be denied the opportunity to assume greater independence in their lives by attending one of these world-class VA programs.”

Zampieri said the relative costs associated with the legislation are minimal since they do not change the system by which outpatient travel reimbursements are administered.

Senator Tester introduced a similar bill, S. 1755, last year during the 112th Congress. BVA hoped that the legislation might be included in a mark-up vote last summer. Because it was not included in the July mark-up, or in a final committee vote in September, a full re-introduction was required in the 113th Congress.

The 11,500-member Blinded Veterans Association, chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1958, is the only Veterans Service Organization exclusively dedicated to serving the needs of the nation’s blinded veterans and their families. The Association was founded in 1945 in Avon, Connecticut, by a small group of World War II veterans blinded during their service. For more information, visit the organization’s website, www.bva.org.

The ultimate purpose of the survey is to help NLS better serve the blind and visually impaired. It seeks to discover the experiences current readers have had with Talking Books and Braille, the types of materials and services readers are looking for, and what NLS can do to get its constituent base interested in the free Talking Book and Braille program. It is especially important to NLS to reach out to potential patrons who have never previously used the service.

To take the 25-minute survey online or to learn more about it, visit www. LibraryOfCongressSurvey.com, or call 1-866-545-1618 to schedule a time to do so by telephone. Additional information is also available by clicking on the flyer below. The respondent does not have to be a current NLS reader to participate.

Answers to all survey questions will be kept confidential.

NLS Survey Flyer [PDF]

BVA’s newest Field Service Officers during recent training at BVA National Headquarters, Wanda Grover of Region 1 based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Wade Davis of Region 5 based in Houston, Texas.

The Association’s annual testimony is based on a detailed written document submitted for the Congressional Record. It urges legislative action in areas such as research funding, beneficiary travel for blinded veterans, guide dogs, full implementation of the Department of Defense Vision Center of Excellence, and the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

Appearing with BVA at the witness table will be National Commanders or National Presidents of The Retired Enlisted Association, Military Officers Association of America, Non Commissioned Officers Association, Wounded Warrior Project, Military Order of the Purple Heart, American Ex-Prisoners of War, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

In addition to BVA’s own unique testimony exclusively dedicated to the needs of America’s blinded veterans and their families, the organization has also endorsed this year’s Veterans Service Organization (VSO) Independent Budget (IB). Accessible at www.independentbudget.org, the Independent Budget offers a budgetary overview of veteran priorities nationwide and throughout medical centers and outpatient facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

This year’s Independent Budget was co-authored by AMVETS, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars and endorsed by several additional congressionally chartered VSOs.

Longtime BVA Service Officers Earl Ivie, left, and Larry Martinez serve blinded veterans and their families in Region VI-A and VI-B. The areas they cover include the Western states of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Idaho and the Pacific states of Alaska and Hawaii.

The testimony follows a week of mid-winter meetings of the BVA Board of Directors and the training of both new and seasoned Field Service Officers. A team consisting of several members of the BVA Legislative Committee—National Vice President Mark Cornell, National Secretary Dale Stamper, and National Treasurer Roy Young—called on legislative staff on Capitol Hill on February 19.

In their new positions, Davis and Grover will serve and assist blind and visually impaired veterans in the regions surrounding the two cities in which they are based. Davis, who assumed his duties January 22, is responsible for the Midwest, excluding the Great Lakes states. Grover began serving blinded veterans residing in the Northeast on February 4.

In addition to helping blinded veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) claims process, they will promote BVA programs, most notably its Volunteer Service Program. They will also assist in developing and strengthening the Association’s Regional Groups and will work cooperatively with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Visual Impairment Service Team Coordinators and Blind Rehabilitation Center personnel within their regions.

A native of southern Illinois, Davis began his BVA tenure on January 22. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1968. He served in the Army Security Agency and was honorably discharged at the rank of E-5 after serving 3½ years. After his Army service he attended Texas Bible College as a student of theology. In 1995, he was diagnosed with retinoschisis. Since then, the tools and training he has received from the Texas Commission for the Blind and the VA Southwestern Blind Rehabilitation Center in Tucson, Arizona have allowed him to continue working.

Grover entered the Army from Philadelphia in 1974 as a member of the Women’s Army Corps. She trained as a Multichannel Communication Specialist at Fort Gordon, Georgia and later attained the rank of Sergeant. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology and Social Work from New York Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Education (teaching students with special needs) from Kaplan University. She attended the VA Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center in West Haven, Connecticut for basic rehabilitation and computer training.

Ron was selected by the BVA Board of Directors in 1985 to serve as the Association’s seventh Executive Director, a position he held until 1994 when then Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Jesse Brown appointed him as a Special Advocate for Blinded Veterans at the VA Central Office in Washington. He was known as an effective speaker in his advocacy for veterans, especially blinded veterans.

Ron became BVA’s Executive Director after 19 years without one. BVA Bylaws required the position to be filled by a blinded veteran and a member of the Association. It was under Ron’s direction that BVA began its direct mail program that brought the organization greater financial solvency.

A life member of BVA since 1956, Ron served as National President in 1978 just prior to Dr. George Stocking’s tenure as President. Ron was National Vice President in 1977, National Secretary in 1976, and Director of District 4 in 1983-84 leading up to his appointment as Executive Director. He was also elected Director of District 4 in the summer of 2001 and served blinded veterans there until the end of calendar year 2002.

Ron received BVA’s high award, the Melvin J. Maas Award for Professional Achievement, in 1983 and the Irving Diener Award in 1982.

Ron was born in Canton, Ohio on July 25, 1935. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, he lost his sight in an automobile accident prior to a scheduled transfer to an overseas assignment. His first contact with BVA was in the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia following the accident. After reconstructive surgery and lengthy hospitalization, Ron attended the Hines Blind Rehabilitation Center and became active in the Southern California Regional Group. He was the regional group’s secretary for two years.

Ron excelled in a variety of academic and professional pursuits prior to working for BVA full-time. Following intensive rehabilitation and his stay at Hines, Ron was accepted to Pepperdine University. It was there that he earned both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in history and met his first wife Patricia. He became one of the first blind teachers in the state of California when Turlock High School District hired him.

After teaching high school history and English for five years, Ron was accepted into a Ph.D. history program at the University of Southern California. After completing the degree, he accepted teaching positions at the junior college level and later worked in the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity for the California State Department of Labor in Sacramento. His work involved advocacy on behalf of veterans applying for employment. In 1980, he was honored as one of a select number of outstanding disabled employees in state government.

Ron’s voluntary service included membership on the Board of Trustees of the American Foundation for the Blind and the California State Guide Dog Board. He also served for two years on the Huntington Beach Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Handicapped and was a member of the Board of Directors for the Orange County Employment of the Handicapped. He served as a delegate to the State Conference on the Handicapped in 1976 and was both a deacon and an elder in the Presbyterian Church.

Following his retirement in 1998, Ron worked hard to increase his computer skills so that he could continue to educate others about veteran’s issues. He also continued to be an avid guide dog user.

Ron is survived by his wife, Joanie, of Turlock, a daughter Diane Miller of Albuquerque, New Mexico, son Colonel Paul Miller, USMC, daughter-in-law Laura Miller, and two granddaughters, Presley and Cassidy, all of Carlsbad, California.