Firefighter Breaks Down in Tears After Seeing American Flag in Color for the First Time
Editor’s Note: The following is one of the Western Journal’s most popular patriotic-themed stories, re-posted in honor of Independence Day.
There are different types of color blindness. Those without this issue will never fully understand what it’s like to live with a limited color palette.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), this glitch in vision occurs when certain colors are indistinguishable from one another. “This usually happens between greens and reds, and occasionally blues,” AAO’s website states.
One firefighter from Douglas County, Georgia, had no clue he suffered from red-green color blindness. It was his co-worker, Jordan Gardner, who first helped 21-year-old Spencer Caradine realize the issue when they went hiking together and the young man couldn’t see something Gardner was pointing at.
“I never thought it was a problem,” Caradine told WSB-TV. “I guess my colors were just different than everyone else’s.”
A colorblind test soon confirmed what Gardner suspected — Caradine is colorblind. But, thanks to Gardner’s kindness and the other firefighters pitching in to buy a pair of EnChroma glasses, Caradine has a chance to see the world differently now.
Gardner kept the glasses a secret until a 4th of July gathering they held the day before the holiday. That’s when he presented his friend and colleague with a special gift.
Caradine told Liftable, a section of The Western Journal, that he was “overwhelmed, excited, and a little confused on what was going on.”
“They told me it was a get together for the 4th of July,” he shared, “and a bunch of people from the department showed up.
“We had a big breakfast and then after that, they told me what was really going on. I didn’t really know what to think or say to them when they presented the glasses.”
EnChroma glasses use a special technology that broadens the color spectrum for the color blind individuals who wear them.
Gardner posted a video to Facebook showing Caradine’s reaction to wearing the glasses for the first time. When he steps outside and sees the red, white and blue colors of the American flag, his response is everything.
“It was insane. It was crazy. It blew my mind,” Caradine told WSB-TV. “It was so much different from what I’ve ever seen. It was more beautiful.”
The grateful firefighter explained to Liftable exactly why our country’s banner was the first thing he wanted to see.
“I wanted to see the American flag because I guess I never truly knew what the American flag really looked like,” he told Liftable. “I saw my red, which [apparently] wasn’t red at all. The flag is something I love and if anything was going to change, that would be the first thing I would want to see. The fire engine just made it even better.”
But the surprises weren’t over for Caradine yet. Gardner took him to a baseball game and they watched the fireworks display together. The colorblind firefighter wore his new glasses, of course.
“He got emotional, I got emotional, and by the time it was over the entire section we were sitting in realized what was happening and there were about a hundred people crying,” Gardner wrote on Facebook. “This has been the most incredible, humbling experience of my life and I’m so glad I got to be apart of it!”
Do you know someone who might benefit from a pair of colorblind glasses? If their reaction is anything like this man’s, those glasses would be worth every penny.
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