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Bronze braille American flag helps visually impaired veterans to connect to their service

By Kaitlyn Chana, Action News Jax
By Kaitlyn Chana, Action News Jax

A special bronze American flag helps veterans who are visually impaired remember why they served.

“The braille flag feels like it reaches out and touches you,” Walt Peters said.

Peters, a decorated U.S. Army solider, donated a bronze braille flag to the Veterans Affairs Jacksonville Outpatient Clinic to encourage people to never lose their vision of hope.

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“For those who have not understood the patriotism of a flag because they can’t really feel it, all of a sudden they feel this and it makes them have a better day and beautiful day,” Peters said.

This braille donation will potentially impact more than 1,000 local blind service men and women. The arrangement of dots and lifted stars and stripes help vets recall memories before going blind.

Veteran Michael Taylor said feeling allows him to see with his heart.

“Sometimes when I feel something, I just can’t believe the difference,” Taylor said.

In a dedication ceremony, Peters spoke to service members about never giving up.

“You have to have the will and the strength and the pride to get up and do things for yourself, your family, and your fellow man,” Peters said.

This flag is a symbolic message that shares his vision. A vision to continue to dream big and see with your heart.

Peters stood at the podium and told vets, “To me, the braille flag is the last flag I will really ever see.”

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The plaque depicts the American flag through tactile figures. In the upper left are the stars and long smooth horizontal lines to represent the stripes. The end of each stripe is embossed with the braille dots 4, 5, 6 followed by the lower case “r,” indicating the color red. Between each of the representations of the red stripes are the long raised textured areas representing the white stripes. The end of each strip is embossed with the braille dots followed by the lower case “w,” indicating the color white.

This graphic equally serves as a teaching/learning tactile aid for instructing blind students how the American flag appears to the sight. To learn how you can purchase one for your loved one, visit www.KBTI.org or call 316-265-9692.

Cox Media Group

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