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Duty, Service, and Vision
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When Fred Scheer left the University of Georgia to enlist in the Army during World War II, he knew he would likely see combat, and that there was a good chance he could get wounded, captured, or worse. Regardless, Fred felt it was his duty to serve his country and take those risks. Sure enough, he landed on Normandy Beach in France about a month after the Allies’ pivotal, but costly D-Day invasion in June 1944. Shortly after going into combat, he was taken prisoner by the Germans and remained a POW for nearly a year. But quite unexpectedly, before his capture, an Army medical officer discovered that Fred had a problem with his night vision. Fred was quite surprised; he had always thought his vision was perfectly normal. “I didn’t know other people could see in the dark,” he said then. Ultimately, his night blindness would be diagnosed as an early stage of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Now, more than 60 years later, Fred and his wife, Gerry, live in Atlanta and are active with the Foundation. Fred became involved in FFB nearly 20 years ago, serving as the Atlanta Chapter’s Treasurer, and a few years later, as the Chapter’s President. Though he is no longer an officer, he still enjoys attending monthly meetings and participating in local events. Fred recently wrote a book about his World War II experience, and raised $4,000 for the Foundation by selling copies of it. Titled “European Sojourn,” the book is a detailed and compelling account of his days in basic training, combat, and imprisonment, as well as his escape from the Germans. In the book, Fred says that life was no picnic as a POW, but the Nazis kept him and other Allied soldiers in decent shape so that they could work repairing railroad tracks that the Allies had bombed. He notes that the biggest key to his survival was concealing his Jewish identity. The book also reveals that Fred and his fellow prisoners — most of whom were young men — didn’t let the Germans or their situation get the better of them. In a later chapter, Fred writes: When the German guards would meet the German Workmaster at the work site each morning, they would raise their right arms and give the normal German greeting, "Heil Hitler." We the Americans would mimic the Germans by doing likewise to one another, but the verbal greeting would be, "Heil Roosevelt." Most of the time the Germans didn't get the joke and thought that was our natural greeting. After returning home in the spring of 1945, Fred started a wholesale poultry business. A few years, he began to work in commercial real estate — a career he would enjoy for the next 40 years. As a result of his adventures abroad as a young soldier, Fred realized he had a passion for traveling, and he and his wife have enjoyed taking trips around the world. Now 84 years old, Fred has lost most of his peripheral vision to RP, and relies on a cane to navigate. “It’s like one of my arms,” he said. But his acuity is still relatively good, and he enjoys reading and using the computer. He and his wife still enjoy traveling, as well. Fred remains excited about retinal research, especially the promise it holds for saving the vision of generations to come. He says, “Over the years that I have been involved with FFB I have become acquainted with young people who had recently been diagnosed with a retinal disease. I knew in my mind that they could go blind. As for the research, I don't have much concern for myself. As for young people with a full life ahead of them, I feel research is their only hope and thanks to the Foundation there is hope in sight.” |
