fuzzybuddy
SF VIP
About '69-70, I was a Corpsman, stationed at the Naval Hospital Eye Clinic, at Bethesda, MD. That was the place they sent all blinded Marines, and other personnel. Their ward was right above the clinic. When a newly blind soldier was admitted, he was shown where the latrine was, and his bed. If he wanted to eat he had to get to the dining room, two stories down. All the hospital staff were told that they could give directions to those men, but under no circumstance were we to physically help them. My mind still sees 18,19, 20 year old guys feeling the walls on their way to the chow hall. God, that tore me up. It seemed cruel at first, but in about a month the men, with white canes, were hopping on busses, going to DC. getting drunk, etc. I think the Vietnam War was the first TV war. You can debate the causes, the tactics, the politics, the circumstances, but there's no debating the death and destruction on your TV screen, and those blinded in Bethesda.