Bright Victory

In 1943, during World War II, Sergeant Larry Nevins is hit by German sniper fire in North Africa. He regains consciousness after he has been rescued and finds that his eyes are enclosed in a head dressing. He is sent back to the U.S. so that the damage to his eyes can be assessed. On the plane, Larry, a Southerner from the small town of Semolina in the northern part of Florida, chats amicably with a soldier from Atlanta, until he realizes that the other soldier is black. Larry then abruptly ends the conversation. At the Valley Forge General Hospital in Pennsylvania, where 2,000 blind soldiers learn to adjust to their condition, Larry is told that he will never see again. He makes his way to the bathroom, intending to cut his wrists, but is stopped by Corporal John Flagg. Lt. Atkins, Larry's superior officer, demands that he inform his parents of his condition, and when Larry refuses, threatens to tell them himself. Humiliated, Larry lets his mother know he is blind. Atkins then reveals that he, too, is blind, and Larry apologizes. During an obstacle test, Larry learns that he can sense a wall ahead of him before he reaches it. Excited about this newfound ability, he calls his mother to boast. Larry becomes friends with Joe Morgan, a soldier from New Orleans, who, unknown to Larry, is black. At a dance, he meets Judy Greene, whom he earlier insulted in a bar when he thought she was trying to pick him up. They spend an enjoyable evening together, but he admits that h... more