Blinded Vets Visit British Comrades

As most Americans gear up to kick of a summer of barbecuing and beachgoing this Memorial Day weekend, a group of blinded military veterans are on a different kind of mission.

Under an initiative known as Project Gemini, the Blinded Veterans Association, headquartered in Washington, and St. Dunstan's, a British group dedicated to supporting the country's blind veterans, has arranged for six American vets to visit London and meet some of their British comrades. The idea, says BVA, is to "provide veterans who have lost their sight recently with examples of and opportunities to interact with men and women who have led happy and prosperous lives despite their blindness."

The group also was scheduled to visit American military staff and Foreign Service personnel at the U.S. Embassy in London and compare the British veterans' health care system with the network of facilities operated by the Veterans Affairs Department in the United States.

The group includes Operation Iraqi Freedom blinded veterans Douglas Cereghin of Phoenix, Ariz.; Jeffrey Mittman of New Palestine, Ind.; and Andrew Tong of Snoqualmie, Wash. Also traveling is Steven Beres, who was blinded in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

British Forces News has video of the visit.