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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1956)
Personnel Officer at Camp White War-Caused Blindness Br A. W. HIBERDY Editor, Camp White Dominewi Many words have been writ ten, movies have been made, and personal experiences re counted of life as a prisoner of war. To even survive through the back-breaking toil, the un believable brutalities of the enemy, and the utter hopeless ness which often overcame these men demanded more courage than most of us possess, and there were many who did not survive to see that long-dreamed of day of liberation, and of those who did, many returned disabled for life. One of these is John W. Sind ers. now personnel officer of the Veterans Administration Domiciliary. Camp White. Sind ers is a veteran of World War If a veteran of those dark, dreary days when deadly battles vere being fought in the far Pacific area: America wasn't ready, and the names Corregi dor and Bataan were strange to America's ears; a veteran who knew hunger and the fear of possibly being one of those who would not return. Joined Marines Sinders, a native of Texas, joined the Marines in 1938, still a youngster fresh out of school, intending to make it his career. But the fortunes or misfor tunes of war willed it otherwise. After his initial period of train ing, he had a brief tour of duty in the Hawaiian Islands, then was transferred to the Philip pines where the outbreak of World War II found him. Through five long months of heroic battle against impossible odds he and some 8,000 others held Corregidor and surrender ed only after they had nothing left with which to fight. On May 7, 1942, while newspaper head lines were screaming of the I..11 of Corregidor, John Sinders was one of the group captured by the Japanese army. An almost immediate victim of amoebic dysentery, John's weight dropped from a husky 198 to 113 pounds in less than 30 days, and within a short time he noticed that he couldn't see the fences of Cabanatuan Prison Camp. Then he couldn't make out the buildings. And, after four months he could not read MUTUAL, Inc. - Nofes) of &4ft CiMwftiil QvortoWy Dtvxfostf Oa Sptwabw 26. 1954. ttt Board of Dtradora of Invasion Muhral, Inc. d dord a regular quarterly dividend of ta cent par (hara darivad from invasN Mat iocomo, plus a drtfrtbutiow of win ond ona-half cantt par shoro rap wring, income from raofizad se curity ptoAhu Tha total of tvonry-ftva ond ona-hatf cants par shora Is payable October 11 to Investors Mutual share holders of record September 28. M. ntttmmm.C1ummltU Board t. JOHN ROSSI Phone 3-4764 JAMES W. AMBLER Phone 2-8918 Medford. Oregon ? tea . A the only two books he still had with him a Bible, and a Span ish textbook, reminder of peace time in the Philippines when he had studied Spanish. Couldn't Understand The Japanese couldn't under stand why John could hot see, and with them no work meant no eat. Sinders quickly learned to find his way around through his ears and his sense of touch, and the problem of food resolv- & - -J - I " ' l '3 ' 1 JOHN W. SINDERS Overcomes Handicap ed itself. He was fortunate enough to Le assigned to the gar dening detail for the duration of his stay in the Philippines. However, the last year of his imprisonment was in Northern Japan where life was even tougher. Part of the time he hauled logs. Part of the time he worked in a copper mine both dangerous occupations even for a man with eyes. Strangely enough it was not until the final summer when the war was nearing a climax that John Sinders began to feel any sense of doom. The moist mires, the three-mile hike to the mountains from the camp al! of this made him feel that one more winter would finish him. "I didn't join the Marines expecting it to be easy," he says in explanation, "I expected to be shot at, maybe even shot; I wasn't surprised . when it hap pened" and he had stoically ac cepted the fact that at least a third of the 8,000 captured when he was taken would not return. Central Optical Nerve Dead But the war ended, and he was released one minute after midnight on Sept. 14, 1945. Aft er three-and-a-half years a pris oner. Sinders started home, blind. Taken to the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland. Calif., he learned that his cen tral optical nerve was dead a result of that original dysen tery and malnutrition. He had less than five-two hundredths vision in both eyes and that portion comes from the peri pheral nerves. Then began a series of treat ments in Naval hospitals in an effort to teach him to adjust, though more than three years in a prison camp had already more than begun the process. He was taught Braille and how to use a cane. It was then that he met "the girl." Mary was a WAVE stationed in nearby Camp Shoemaker, and in less than a month they were married. Sent to Philadelphia and then to the Institute for the Blind AN ft ftt n Q C) WARD WEEK-THE GREATEST SALE OF THE BUY ANY OF THE WARD WEEK VALUES ON THIS BIG NIGHT TONIGHT, 7:00 TO 9:00 P.M. Here's why you'll want to attend: You'll be FIRST to shop hundreds of Ward Week Super Bargains! FIRST to select the best of the bargains on whatever you need! You'll be eligible to win one of the valuable door prizes! Special Exhibits for "do-it-yourselfers" in our Basement! Free balloons for the youngsters! No Handicap To Work in New York for testing and rehabilitation, Sinders eventual ly was discharged from the Ila rine Corps on Julv 3, 1946, and with Mary, his wife, returned to his native Texas. Takes Courageous Step Now he took a step which must have required a great deal of courage: In the fall both he and Mary entered Clifton Jun ior College, then on to Baylor University. After a year they decided to enter law school. Throughout their years of study. Mary's eyes served for both of them. "It wasn't easy." he says. They worked hard and re viewed regularly. John received his law degree and passed 1 :e Texas bar in June, 1952. Mary, because she had been ill and got a late start, received her degree a year later. During this period, and because they feared they could never have a child, they adopted a daughter. Mary Kath ryn, now 8!i years of age. Now they also have a son, John Jr., 2'2. When Sinders had adjusted to his lack of sight in school, he now found that lawyers were more plentiful in Texas than Texas steers. As a result, he went to work for the city of San Antonio, later applying for a position with the Government. He was selected and sent to the VA Center, Waco, Tex., as a personnel officer trainee. ' Uses Telescopic Lenses ' Since graduation from col lege, John has learned to use glasses equipped with telescopic lenses. Although he may use only one eye a0 a time, the glasses allow him to read any thing within eight inches. An other type of lense also makes it possible for him to view dis tant objects, such as a football game or movie. He occasionally falls up steps and sometimes walks in front of a bus. But, like all persons denied their sight, he has learned to use his memory and his other senses to the extent that sight is almost unnecessary. From Waco VA Center, John was transferred to VA Hospital Salisbury. N.C., then to VA Hos pital, Durham, N.C., as assistant personnel officer, and in July of this year he was assigned to the VA Domiciliary at Camp White as personnel officer. Not Through Studying John Sinders is happy in his work with the Veterans Admin istration but is not through with studying. He hopes in the future to be able to take additional Suez Company Estimates Drop in Canal Shipping Paris (U.R) The old Suez Canal company Saturday esti mated a drop of about two per cent in shipping tonnage through the Suez canal during Septemb er compared with the same month of 1955, although the overall trend had been toward considerable annual gains. This percentage is based on an estimate of 1.150 ships aggre gating 9.400.000 tons for Sep tember, 1956, compared with-1.-197 ships and 9,551,000 tons in 1955. EXCITING EVENING PRE-VUE OF Discovers courses which will assist him in increasing his value to his employer as well as taking fur ther studies in the law. He hopes someday to get his Doctorate in law. His biggest difficulty, he says, is that he can't drive'. He tries to keep people from know ing of his physical disability and surprisingly enough often succeeds. He wants no sympathy because he has complete faith in his own individual ability. John Sinders wholeheartedly subscribes to the theme of the current National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week when it reads, "A physical handi cap is not a job handicap when a person is properly placed in employment." IN THERE PICKING Sally McClutchen tries out her cotton picking hands ust before the 17th annual Na tional Cotton Picking con test gets underway at Bly theville. Ark. Menon In London; Nasser Talks End Cairo (U.R) India's V. K. Krishna Menon ended his talks with Egypt's president Saturday and headed for London to try to get the west to sit down with Egypt and work out their differ ences over the Suez canal. Menon's move reflected a growing belief the United Na tions Security council will not be able to solve the Suez prob lem. Egyptian officials made it clear Egypt would spurn the western proposal brought before the se curity council Friday. The pro posal calls for the international control of the canal a condi tion Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nas ser has flatly-rejected. Lima, Peru U.R) Eight persons were killed and 18 hospitalized with serious in juries in a bus accident near Huancayo Friday. Use Mail Tribune Want Ads For Quick Cash YEAR I v 'Cj Factory Stands as Testimony To Courage f Editor' nnt- Pruirlent Finhnu-ftr has designated this National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week. The following is a story or an unusual way ""-n lie pnvsiraJiy Handicapped themselves are meeting the challenge.) By ALFRED LEECH United Press Correspondent Chicago (U.R) A neat lit tle factory in the suburbs stands as a testimonial to the courage of handicapped workers and the opportunity they found in free, enterprise. The Paraplegics Manufactur ing company is no, "sheltered workshop" for the physically handicapped. It's a profit-making concern in a highly competitive-field, and 72 of the 80 stockholders are employees. The workers are honorary members of the International Brotherhood of "Electrical Work ers and are paid union scale wag es. The unique firm was founded five years ago, not without the problems and headaches encoun tered by most small businesses, plus some of its own. Wheelchair President President and co-founder is Dwight Guilfoii; 33, a father of six. He was stricken with polio and spinal meningitis in the Air Force and gets around now in a wheelchair. "If we had been real smart we'd never have started this operation,"' Guilfoii said, smil ing. "Because most of the experts said it couldn't be done. Business friends said we were crazy and social workers told us there were too many special problems." But the company has thrived, making electronic sub-assemblies for a distinguished clientele that includes Admiral Corp., Argonne National Laboratory, Bell and Howell, Bendix Aviation, Hot point, Motorola, Sears Roebuck, Stewart-Warner and Western El ectric. "We don't get any special con sideration," Guilfoii said. "We have to bid low and meet com petition. And we have to turn out quality material." Most Are Paraplegic The firm normally employs about 85 persons. The office girls, the sales manager and the To NEW, LARGER QUARTERS AT Investments made by the 1 0th of the month earn dividends as of the First. Monday, Oclober 8, 1958 of the Handicapped foreman are not physically hand' icapped, but virtually all the production workers are. Most of them are paraplegics in wheelchairs. But there are others deaf mutes, blind, spas tics, advanced heart cases. The work benches are higher than normal to accomodate the wheel, chairs. Ramps have re placed steps throughout the en- fire plant. Bob McShane, a former fire man whose back was broken when a wall collapsed on him in a fire in 1952, is both production worker and a member of the board of directors. When the firm ran into a tem porary financial squeeze, Mc Shane bought all the stock he could. Gibson Refuses to Tell of $6,000 Loot Coquille. (U.P) Ernest Le roy Gibson, captured fugitive from the Linn county jail, re fused Saturday to tell author ities whether he had recovered any part of the $6,000 loot from the Linn county treasurer's of fice that he is suspected of hid ing somewhere in Coos county. Gibson was captured Friday after a 72-hour search in the rug ged area around Seven Devils road near Coos Bay. He was found in a car stolen at Empire, Ore., the previous night and was later arraigned on a car theft charge and lodged in Coos coun ty jail here. At the time Gibson took a cab from Bend to Eugene and thence to Coos Bay with the abducted driver, he was carrying a red brief case. He did not have it when he was captured. "It-had nothing in it. I threw it in the ocean," he told arrest ing officers who speculated that it might have contained money Gibson was accused of taking from the Linn county court house. First dental school established in the United States was located in the city of Baltimore in 1839, So That We Can Better Serve The People of Medford and the Rogue River Valley .... IU1 iru North Mi JUST ONE BLOCK WEST OF FORMER LOCATION The steady growth of this long-established Medford in stitution has made necessary this expansion in space, facilities and personnel. It is but another step in a long range program of First Federal to keep pace with the , continued development of the southern Oregon area. It means, improved service for our investors and mortgage loan clients. We cordially invite you to drop in and see our new quarters, just half block north from Main on Ivy street near the Hotel Medford. Your Savings GROW - -With SAFETY! FIRST FEDERAL Savings & Loan Assn. of Medford 29 North Ivy R. F. Kyle, President Mail Address: Post Office Box 1348 MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE SEVEN 'I figure my future is here," said McShane, who has a wife and .four daughters. "This job has meant everything to me. I'm not just killing time here. I m producing something useful. So I want to help keep the company going. Fastest service to !u i l 1 SAN FRANCISCO j rs SEATTLE VA hrs. CHICAGO io, hr,. HE VV r Wffn J3V4 hrs. Fast one-stop service I Leave 10:40 p.m. daily t Airport fermina. In Medford call 3- PliL S 3643 or an authorized trawl agint. L: " J MOVED Ivy Street Our Flexible savings plan lets you accumulate savings conveniently our of income, and these savings go right to work for you. Safetly too. Savings here are insured to $10,000 by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corpora tion. Take advantage of our investment or savings plan and start your -money working for you. Algerian Rebels Fire Machinegun From Taxi Algiers. Algeria, (U.R) Al- " gerian rebels riding in a taxi spattered pedestrians with ma chinegun fire during the rush hour in Bone Friday night. Three persons,v two of them women, were killed and 24 oth ers wounded. The taxi roared through ma jor thoroughfares of the eastern Algerian port city with machine gun fire shot from its windows. m wrwu liuvu urn .w OUR
