Ronald Reagan

“ Among those Americans who have answered their country's call to service in defense of its freedoms, there are thousands who, as a result of service in our Nation's military forces, have suffered the catastrophic disability of blindness. Despite the extreme severity of this disability, these veterans have succeeded in leading useful and productive lives, in part through Federal programs for their readjustment but, more significantly, by drawing upon a special brand of heroism. ”

“ In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixth. ”

“ Our country now enjoys the blessing of peace, and it is appropriate that all Americans recognize the special debt owed to those who have been blinded in the defense of our freedoms during the wars of this century. ”