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“I was blinded by the explosion
of a German mortar round in August 1944. My eyes were so
damaged, they had to be removed.”
“I
was a soldier in the United States Army in Korea. It was
1952 and I was 18 years old. An artillery shell exploded
near me…when I came to in the hospital, the Army nurse
told me I was going to pull through but I was blind.”
“I
was a Sergeant with the 1st Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam.
I was 24 years old and I still remember the day a land mine
got me. One eye was blown out and the other was full of
shrapnel. I recovered from my wounds but I’m totally
blind.”
"I
was blown up from an IED (in Iraq) and I'm blind in one
eye and have three pieces of shrapnel in the only eye with
sight."
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 They’re
all different. They’re soldiers, marines, sailors, airmen.
They’re veterans of World War II, of Korea, of Vietnam, of
Afghanistan, of Iraq, of every trouble spot America’s military
personnel have gone to. They readily and proudly responded to
their nation’s call. And now they're blind.
Along with their eyesight, they lost a lot more, too. Opportunities,
careers they had planned after their military service. Many lost
self-respect, their sense of self-worth.
The Blinded Veterans Association began in March of 1945, formed
by and for the young men who came home from World War II with
their eyesight gone, sentenced to a life-time of darkness.
When those blinded veterans gathered at the Old Farms Convalescent
Hospital in Avon, Connecticut, more than 55 years ago to form
BVA, they were adamant about one thing-they didn't want. "pity
money."
Their search for decent work too often ended with doors slammed
by employers who didn't know, or refused to believe, what a committed
blind worker could really do.
But, thanks to BVA, thanks to concerned, patriotic Americans
like YOU, many of those doors have been opened. Thousands of blinded
veterans have escaped despair, have regained their self-respect
and are important contributors to society, to the communities
in which they live and work.
Through rehabilitation, counseling, job training and placement,
TOGETHER, we give them that chance. It is friends like
you who make our work possible.
That's why I'm asking you to make a commitment today to support
the Blinded Veterans Association.
While I am proud that BVA has been serving blinded veterans for
more than 55 years, I have great concern about the future.
There are an estimated 120,000 blinded veterans in America
today. By this time next year, there will be 5,000 more.
And every vet who needs a helping hand should get it! It's the
least we as a nation owe them for their service to us.
The problem is, there are already thousands
of blinded vets
we have not yet been able to help!
We don't have the manpower we need and we don't have the funds
to get that manpower. It costs about $50,000 a year to fund an
office, phone, travel expenses and salary for a field representative-money
we simply have not set aside for this purpose.
If you would like to volunteer or help in your community, please
call us at our toll-free number, which is 1-800-669-7079. We have
nowhere else to turn for assistance. Although we are chartered
by Congress to represent blinded veterans, we depend on Americans
like you for support to carry out that mission.
 Won't
you make a commitment to
help America's blinded veterans by sending the most generous contribution
you can spare-$10, $25, $35, $50-more if you are able?
Also, please pray for all blinded veterans-especially the newly-blind
-- that they will have the courage and strength to face the obstacles
that lie ahead.
When blinded veterans are given the chance they deserve,
they make the most of it. Helping even one of them recover their
self-respect, live a life of dignity, will make your contribution
one of the most valuable you have ever made. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Larry Belote
National President
P.S. And if you know of a blinded veteran in your area, why not
pay a visit? It means a lot just to know someone cares.
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