 proudly we hail from New York City where the American stage begins here is another program with a cast of outstanding players public service time has been made available by this station for your army and your Air Force to bring you this story suppose you were Sergeant Ray Bailey found that you were seeing the world through someone else's eyes what would you do how would you react if you met a girl and knew that you had seen her someplace before had held her in your arm had loved her and yet you were both strangers our story is entitled the eyes of Sergeant Bailey now our first act curtain will rise in just a moment but first registered nurses here's a chance to be of service to your country during one of the most critical periods in America's history as you know our army has expanded rapidly due to the tense international situation and urgently needs more nurses to help safeguard the health of our soldiers you'll be a commissioned officer with good pay and liberal allowances and you'll have priceless opportunities for furthering your professional career you'll have the benefit of working with some of the finest medical equipment in the world and the chance of learning the newest techniques in the medical profession get all the facts today right or wire the surgeon general United States Army Washington 25 DC do it now and now your army and your Air Force presents the proudly we hail production the eyes of Sergeant Bailey my name is Connie Taylor my father Colonel Jim Taylor is commanding officer of the 34th General Hospital at Camp Arvani I feel that I'm more qualified than anyone else to tell you the story of Sergeant Ray Bailey because I was an important part of that story I still am for all the facts it's necessary to go back more than a year back to May 1951 that's the month when Harvey Stillman died nothing could be done for him you may remember the headlines dying medical student dedicates eyes to life Harvey Stillman was a friend of my father's and on the day the story began dad had gone to Harvey's bedside to try to cheer him up a little dad told me later that Harvey was bitter like all of us he didn't want to do great feeling believe me I'm still alive I'm flying here and my mind keeps fighting inside the wall my skull giving my body commands legs still move and my mind says move and still alive fingers nimble kind of Taylor who is this death that's reaching out for me hate the feeling of dying I only wish I could help you Harvey you've been a great guy specialist some of the carry on your work Colonel Taylor you need me all over the world people need my skill talent I don't want to die Harvey I don't want that they call from the hospital they need you an emergency major Browning is on duty at the hospital it's an eye case there was an accident on the road outside of camp what kind of injury severe face burns and blindness the retina seems to be intact but the corny is a badly scarred and apparently lifeless as a case for you come a double corny of graft nurse phone the eye bank and tell them I need two corny is for transplantation no wait don't you see I can be a part of this why can't you use a corny is for my eyes why not are they I like the idea it's cheating death just a little I like that nurse never mind that call you'll be my witnesses both of you now listen I Harvey stillman do hereby donate and bequeath my eyes to what's sergeant Ray Bailey sergeant Ray Bailey that he may use them as he sees fit the operation was performed as the dying Harvey stillman had wished it and then for long weeks Ray Bailey sat in the darkness of a cave of bandages around his eyes that in the darkness and hope sometimes and disappeared other times and waited and then the waiting came to an end almost too suddenly roll down those shades please all right sergeant I'm going to take off the bandages I wait just give me another minute will you sir I I'm afraid that well there's nothing to be afraid of a whole steady you can cut the bandages away couple wait a minute look I want to be sure I'll see again if I'm not going to see you can leave these bandages on a flashlight please don't be afraid sergeant I look straight ahead I have a flashlight focused on your face that's the only light in the room let me know when you can see it all right start cutting away the bandages see it see the light I can see yes the operation was successful and sergeant Ray Bailey began a period of recuperation all his life his hobby had been drawing he'd never been particularly good but he enjoyed making sketches of his buddies in the army and he'd drawn a few cartoons for the camp newspaper he began to work feverishly in the hospital did some murals in the dining room and everyone complimented him on his work he did portraits and one day he went in to see dad for a checkup vision 2020 in both eyes good you'll be back on duty in no time at all sergeant any headaches no no headaches Colonel Taylor there's one thing though my my perception of colors it's much sharper now well and some of my charcoal sketches they're much better than I've ever done before why should that worry you I don't know yes captain Stanley would like to see you sir he just came in from washing of course send him right in I'll come back later sir and stop worrying Bailey it won't help the talk come right in captain Stanley I'd like you to meet Sergeant Bailey you remember your friend Harvey Stillman and what's the matter sergeant captain Stanley I've seen you before but I know I haven't I'm afraid I don't understand I know your face sounds crazy doesn't it I made a sketch of your face two weeks ago a very ordinary sort of face it's hundreds of people like me now the picture I sketched is you three days after that strange interview my father was making a routine tour through the hospital he stopped by the occupational therapy room Sergeant Bailey met him at the door you said the portrait of Captain Stanley was a coincidence now look at this why who is it you know it don't you when did you paint this this morning a face came to me out of my imagination out of thin air the same as Captain Stanley who is it seems to resemble a friend of mine it can't be though because the person I'm thinking of is stationed overseas did Harvey Stillman know him yes they were in the same graduating class at medical school they were good friends weren't they I believe they were but look this is this is only a slight resemblance the closer I look the more sure I am that this is not the same man why has this happened why do I paint these pictures what's happening to me is Harvey Stillman still living still seeing life from me Sergeant Bailey this is sheer fantasy you know what a corneal transplantation is we take the lens from one person's eye and transplant it to the eye of another person it makes no more difference than changing the lens in your spectacle all right you claim there's only a slight resemblance in this portrait to the man you know here I have another portrait look at this lovely isn't it I've never seen that girl in my life I think you have and I think Harvey Stillman knew her too who is she what did she mean to him I repeat I don't know her if you'll excuse me I must complete my tour dad never asked me not to come to the hospital as a rule I stayed at home on this particular evening however the evening I met Sergeant Bailey I had stopped by the hospital to drive dad home they were having a little dance for the patients with an orchestra and one of the wards had been decorated with paper streamers and gaily colored cut house dad was busy in one of the other buildings and I waited for him on a small terrace outside the ward dance music was pleasantly soft I'd been standing there for a minute or so when I became aware of a shadowy figure near me was a man but I couldn't see features hello watching the city sort of just looking at it drinking it in I've always liked standing in the dark and looking out at the lights of the city I know may I ask a silly question go ahead I want to ask you you sometimes have a feeling you've been here before you've lived through this before heard the same voices seen the same faces done the same things you know what I'm talking about yes yes I do that's how I feel at this moment I've been trying to remember and I can't but I know I've talked to you before the second you came out here and said hello I almost had your name on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't remember it dry Connie for some honey yes that's it please step over here something wrong sounds so strange just just let me look at you here in the light I knew it I knew it you've got to come with me why don't ask any questions come with me now I've got to show you something this portrait it's you isn't it I knew it was your picture the moment I heard your voice but you've never seen me before this picture could be any one of a thousand girls no it's not oh you you haven't told me your last name I'm Connie Taylor final Taylor's daughter and he did recognize the picture you knew Harvey stillman too didn't you yes I did if only I knew what this thing is why should I see the same things he saw the same people are you talking about captain Stanley and now you who are you to Harvey stillman no no you don't have to answer I know he loved you you loved him yeah I knew it I knew it you are listening to the proudly we hail production of the eyes of sergeant Bailey the return to our story in just a moment our army has expanded tremendously to meet the challenge of the forces of aggression which are threatening the peace of the world and there is an urgent need for professional women to fill the ranks within the women's medical specialist corps the occupational and physical therapist and the dietitians who comprise the corps have never had a greater opportunity to serve where they are needed most right now there are only a few hundred of these highly trained specialists serving throughout the army and the Air Force despite the fact that the need for their services has never been more acute to the women of this profession your army and Air Force offers not only the opportunity to fulfill a patriotic duty but a commission as an officer in the army or the Air Force of the United States and with that commission goes the pay the privileges the security and the opportunities for continued study that is available to every officer the opportunity for a lifetime career is great but the need is greater so if you are a qualified occupational or physical therapist or a dietitian here is your chance to serve your country in an hour of great need right or wire the Surgeon General United States Army or the Surgeon General United States Air Force Washington 25 DC remember you are needed now you are listening to proudly we hail and now we present the second act of the eyes of Sergeant Bailey we sat and talked for hours that night we talked and I tried my best to convince him that there must be a logical explanation for everything that had happened I remember saying Ray I know this is a nightmare for you but you're living a lie Harvey still meant eyes are not controlling you you're magnifying a few chance happenings into something out of proportion with reality an answer one thing for me why do I love you do you love me yes I fell in love with you while I was painting a picture I'd sit here at my easel looking into thin air and seeing you at the same time talking to you loving the way you look the sound of your voice the gentleness of you close your eyes for a moment please who kissed you Ray Bailey Harvey still meant I wasn't deliberately lying to you sergeant but I knew if I said there was a resemblance to my daughter in your portrait that you'd insist on seeing her and I knew this obsession of yours would become even stronger through that meeting you're too late sir we haven't met dad you must do something to help Ray there must be something you've tried to tell me that everything which has happened is only happening in my mind but here is visible evidence Connie the same Connie loved by Harvey stillman I recognized her instantly and I fell in love with her too Bailey listen to me it's because you want it this way the answer is here in your own army record the Ray Bailey you were before the operation was never someone you particularly liked you had no faith in yourself your talent in your work you could have been an officer you refused the opportunity I admit that I didn't particularly like that Ray Bailey but that certainly doesn't explain what's happened since couldn't it be simply wanting things to turn off this way I don't know Connie I only wish to heaven that I did frankly sergeant I I don't know what else I can do I wish I knew what action to take I told you it would turn out this way Connie what can a doctor do about these things nothing it's up to me I've got to go back got to find out everything about Harvey stillman no life as he knew it maybe that's what's intended for me to pick up where he left off maybe even to become the doctor he might have been you can't you stop him maybe Ray is right after all coming right or wrong I've got to do it I've got to visit Harvey's home see his parents I'll give you a pass sergeant thank you sir I knew you'd see it my way I don't see it your way at all sergeant but the human mind is most complex sometimes it knows what it needs better than a doctor does go where you want to do what you must he has to help himself my dear is your past sergeant goodbye I wish you the best of luck thank you sir goodbye Connie Ray I wish there was some other way I can't help feeling you'll never come back I'll never see you again Connie dear you mustn't cry dad what if he's what if he's right no Connie he's not right he's wrong but we can't prove it for him this is a fight he must fight all by himself all by himself but if he changes if he finds that he doesn't love me suppose I never see me again don't worry child sergeant Bailey will come back and you may be sure of this you'll see him again the days went by then a week Ray still hadn't returned to the hospital every day I called and every day the same answer I didn't know till later where he had gone I didn't know how he began backtracking into the life of Harvey stillman the medical school he had attended his friends and of course Harvey stillman's own family but you must have seen my son at one time sergeant your paths could have crossed very easily now now that's impossible I was blind when I was carried into the hospital after the wreck your son was dead before I could see again and I'm sure I never saw him before that in my whole life all right I believe you never saw him what are you trying to prove I'll prove to you that without ever having seen your son I can paint his picture you're fooling yourself I'll make you know what I'm going through I'll paint you a portrait of Harvey stillman I'll paint him line for line and feature for feature I'll paint him warm and alive and living as if he were in this room with you will you believe me then you could do that I'd know you were telling the truth we'll get the curve on the left-hand side of his lips that firm line for the determination in his chin more red here I haven't got the planes of his cheek right they're higher it's more flesh over his bones it's firmer flesh now the eyes that haunted driving look behind his eyes not just eyes not just eyes to paint underneath is the soul of a man the terror of death the driving fight against death but looking out on life challenge you can't kill me I live on now like a blue that's it small highlight some of the kindliness of man's character shining out of his eyes that's it that's it I've done it I've painted Harvey stillman stillman I received your note oh yes come in mr. stillman came as soon as I could you said it was important it is important to both of us and wait until I open these curtains the picture is finished it's here on my easel will you look at it now yes I would like to see it I would like to see it very much I'll remove the cover now now mr. stillman what do you say you asked me to look at the picture is it your son or isn't it my son well answer me isn't this a portrait of Harvey stillman I brought a snapshot with me I have it here in my wallet compare it with a picture you just painted this is Harvey stillman's photograph yes and who have I painted don't you know look over there in the mirror I've painted my own portrait I've painted myself a shock of finding it painted his own picture seemed to drive the obsession from Ray's mind and he came back to me and again we walked down to the small room in the basement of the hospital and he explained what happened to him I guess it all began when I was lying in the hospital with those bandages on my eyes really you don't have to talk about it anymore let me tell you me tell you Connie then I'll be free forever you see no matter what your father told me while my eyes were bandaged I couldn't believe that I'd ever see again my poor darling I was trying desperately to find something to cling to I called up all my memories of things I had seen in the past faces I had seen and surrounded myself with them and and somehow all the faces would merge into one face you see and that's the face I painted when I could see again of course the picture looked like Captain Stanley I was painting all mankind in every portrait I painted would have would have been hard to find a man the portraits didn't resemble and you I painted every beautiful woman I'd ever known and it was your face I saw in the portrait then I painted my own picture thinking it was someone else and when I realized that I was free again I love Connie you know what I'm going to do I'm going to paint you I'm going to paint you but it won't be like the others it's going to be just you all the wonderful individualness of you Ray would you paint the portrait against the background of the city just the way it looked that night from the terrace with the lights shading your face softly yes I'd like that I'd like that very much as I said all this happened more than a year ago Sergeant Bailey is now Lieutenant Bailey and I'm Mrs. Bailey tomorrow my husband leaves for a tour of duty in Germany and I hope to follow soon this one thing though which we're leaving behind if you'd like to see the portrait he painted it's hanging in Vanderhoof's gallery you can't miss it it's hanging in the most important spot on the wall registered or graduate nurses answer your country's call for service in the Army nurse corps the need is great and the need is urgent they're just aren't enough nurses to handle the nursing requirements of our greatly expanding army and you as a nurse can appreciate perhaps better than anyone else the fact that an army's efficiency is largely dependent upon the state of its health so here's your opportunity to be of immeasurable service to your country at a time when the need is great the Army nurse corps has plenty to offer you to the pay is good and the allowances are liberal you'll be in a job that challenges the best that's within you and you'll have endless opportunities to grow in your professional capacity the Army's vigorous medical research program has developed many new medical techniques and you'll learn how to apply them but most of all you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you are serving at a time when you are needed most so make your decision to serve now right or where the surgeon general United States Army Washington 25 DC this has been another program on proudly we hail presented transcribed in cooperation with this station by the United States Army and the United States Air Force recruiting service this is Kenneth Bangard speaking and inviting you to tune in the same station next week for another interesting story on proudly we