DON KARKOS was interviewed by newspapers, radio stations and television stations from across the country when he regained sight in his right eye after being kicked by a trotter named My Buddy Chimo at Monticello Raceway.
Karkos went blind in that eye in 1942 while serving in the United States Navy during World War II.
[source: Sullivan County Democrat]
Karkos went blind in that eye in 1942 while serving in the United States Navy during World War II.
The Monticello Miracle
![]() |
Photo credit Simon 'kelp' |
Seaman Don Karkos, 17, lost his sight in the summer of 1942 while serving on the USS Rapadan in the North Atlantic. The Rapadan was a merchant marine ship that fuelled battleships and cruisers at sea.
He was on deck of the Rapadan when there was a loud explosion. Twisted metal flew everywhere and something heavy hit him above his right eye.
When Karkos awakened, he found himself in a military hospital in Iceland and was told by the doctors that he’d never again see out of his right eye. But for cosmetic purposes Karkos chose to leave that eye in place rather than remove it as the doctors suggested.
For about 60 years, Karkos got by without sight in his right eye.
“Oh, it wasn’t all that bad, but I got embarrassed from time to time when I’d run into objects or people on my right side,” he told one newspaper reporter back in mid-December when his story got out.
One day as he was preparing a horse named My Buddy Chimo for an early morning workout at Monticello Raceway, the horse suddenly moved his head and hit Karkos on the head, just above his right eye.
Karkos said that the hit by the horse’s head made him see stars and that he was dizzy for a while, but he went on about his work. But when he got home that evening and was rubbing his left or “good” eye, he was stunned and called his wife, April right away.
“I can see out of my right eye,” he shouted to his wife incredulously.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Karkos, a longtime paddock security guard and horse owner, was reluctant to gain celebrity and hid his gained eyesight from all but a few close friends. But once the word got out the story was too big to keep hidden anymore.
And a wonderful story it was – a Monticello Miracle.
[source: Sullivan County Democrat]