{"id":33130,"date":"2014-05-28T15:00:37","date_gmt":"2014-05-28T20:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whisnews21.com\/?p=33130"},"modified":"2014-05-28T15:00:37","modified_gmt":"2014-05-28T20:00:37","slug":"walt-peters-unveils-braille-us-flag-in-sumner-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/2014\/05\/28\/walt-peters-unveils-braille-us-flag-in-sumner-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Walt Peters Unveils Braille US Flag In Sumner County"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CharleneWaltLauraMargieMaritz\"<\/a>Braille US Flag Monument Dedicated In Sumner County<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"LauraSingingAnthem\"<\/a>
Laura Dodd Singing The Anthem<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GALLATIN, Tenn. \u2013 The American flag is a special part of any Memorial Day ceremony. The Stars and Stripes played a prominent role in Sumner County, with the dedication of a monument for veterans who can no longer see.<\/p>\n

A new bronze Braille version of the American flag was unveiled to honor the 1.3 million blind veterans in the United States. The dedication was not about what you see, but what you feel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is it. You can feel it,\u201d said retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Walt Peters. Memorial Day was special for Peters this year. \u201cI’ve been blind now for about 15 years,\u201d he said. Peters served three tours in Vietnam. He said a little thing like not being able to see does not bother him. \u201cI just look at things a little differently, but I’ve got my faith. \u2018Can’t\u2019 is not in my attitude, you know,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a>
Two Veterans at the ceremony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Peters helped bring a bronze Braille American flag monument to Sumner County Veteran’s Park off North Belvedere Drive in Gallatin.<\/p>\n

“Walt’s dedication of the American Braille Flag was a part of their annual Memorial Day celebration at the Sumner County Veterans Park. \u00a0It is now on permanent display at the entrance to the veterans wall.” Keith Bradford<\/p>\n

The monument has been recognized by Congress. Only 50 of its kind have been placed in the whole country. Now one has been placed in Sumner County.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can feel the stars and stripes and you can feel everything on it,\u201d said Peters.<\/p>\n

The Braille dots indicate the red or white color of the stripe. The Pledge of Allegiance is written across the red stripes. The monument was made by disabled and homeless veterans by the Kansas Braille Transcription Institute in Wichita, Kansas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose of the Braille Flag is to give homeless and handicapped veterans a job,\u201d said Peters.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Peters said the monument gives him the inspiration to remember the days he served his country in faraway places.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI can feel that old flag and think of many a day not only (Vietnam), but Hawaii \u2013 and many other good things,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"MemorialDayTennessee\"<\/a>Now in Gallatin, every veteran will be able to feel their memories.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe can’t see with our eyes but we can see with our hearts, and that’s what this flag is all about,\u201d said Peters.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Peters has been blind for about 15 years. He said he gradually became blind after getting sick from Agent Orange, a chemical used during the Vietnam War to kill forests and other vegetation, and deprive the enemy of food and cover.<\/p>\n

He also has diabetes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Peters hoped to place these monuments in all the VA hospitals across the country.<\/p>\n

This dedication of the American Braille Flag was a part of their annual Memorial Day celebration at the Sumner County Veterans Park. \u00a0It is now on permanent display at the entrance to the veterans wall.<\/p>\n

\"BrailleFlagCeremonySumnerCounty\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Story Mark Bellinger<\/b><\/p>\n

Pictures: Keith and Mike Bradford<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Braille US Flag Monument Dedicated In Sumner County GALLATIN, Tenn. \u2013 The American flag is a special part of any Memorial Day ceremony. The Stars and Stripes played a prominent role in Sumner County, with the dedication of a monument for veterans who can no longer see. A new bronze Braille version of the American flag was unveiled to honor the 1.3 million blind veterans in the United States. The dedication was not about what you see, but what you feel. \u201cThis is it. You can feel it,\u201d said retired<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33130"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}