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Blind Rehabilitation Service
History: The Korean Conflict

Blind Rehabilitation Service History

Korean Conflict

The nature of combat in the Korean War resulted in numerous instances of blindness and multiple handicaps. More than 500 servicemen were blinded during that conflict, accounting for five percent of all casualties, the highest ratio of any American battle up to that time. In addition, there were a substantial number of multi-handicapped cases including bilateral hand amputees, unilateral arm amputees, unilateral and bilateral leg amputees, neurologically impaired, and brain injured.

As a result, the Veterans Administration authorized Hines to increase the BRC staff size to 32 and to increase the Blind Center's bed capacity from 9 to 27. In addition, a 13 bed preliminary unit was placed on the Ophthalmology ward for recently blinded veterans needing definitive medical care prior to participating in the regular BRC program. Many new adaptive training techniques and prosthetic devices were created during this period in order to meet the needs of the multi-disabled and the Hines staff was continually refining the long cane concept espoused by Hoover. This would eventually lead to the development of a structured approach to teaching independent travel skills for the blind.

[ IMAGE : Multiple handicapped blinded veteran using adaptive devices. ] After the Korean Conflict ended, the number of applications for training at the Hines BRC began to decrease sharply and, from 1957 through 1961, the program only averaged 17 patients. A contributing factor to this decrease was that the Blinded Veterans Association field representative program was sharply curtailed due to a lack of funds. These "ambassadors of good will" were hired to help veterans who were overwhelmed by their blindness. They would serve as "role models" by demonstrating the ability to independently travel to blinded veterans homes across the country and, as a result, they essentially became the advertising wing for the VA's blind rehabilitation program. While fully operational, these six individuals contacted some two thousand blinded veterans over the course of a ten-year period and persuaded many of them to apply for the adjustment training program at Hines.

Reviewed/Updated Date: September 23, 2009