Colorblind firefighter sees the colors of American flag for the first time: 'I never really knew the world could look this beautiful'

Hope Schreiber
·Writer

An emotional video of a colorblind firefighter being able to see the true colors of the American flag for the first time, thanks to EnChroma color blind glasses, has gone viral.

While most Americans recognize the iconic red, white, and blue colors of the flag, one Georgia firefighter, Spencer Carradine, has never seen it in its true glory. In fact, he had no idea the flag he was seeing wasn't in the correct hues.

Carradine, along with Jordan Gardner — his best friend and fellow firefighter at Douglas County's Station Number 4 in Georgia — were hiking together when Gardner realized his friend was colorblind.

Gardner had mentioned something about a red barn and quickly realized Carradine had no idea what he was talking about. Carradine, Gardner had figured out, was unable to distinguish between the colors of red and green, a condition that affects six percent of males.

After that hike, Gardner planned to purchase Carradine the EnChroma color blind glasses, with the help of other firefighters in the department.

On July 3, the day before Independence Day, the firefighters surprised Carradine with the gift. The Douglas County firefighters hung an American flag on their truck – it was the first thing Carradine saw when he opened his eyes wearing the glasses.

A video of the moment has since gone viral. Carradine, emotional from not only being able to see the true colors of the flag for the first time but also from the support of his friends at the station, hugs his friend as he thanks him.

"It blew my mind ... It was so much different from what I've ever seen. It was more beautiful. I've never seen anything like it in my life," Carradine told WSB-TV.

“It meant a lot to me,” Gardner told Fox 5 Atlanta. “I can only imagine how much it meant to him.”

Carradine shared with Fox 5: “I never really knew the world could look this beautiful. The American flag is one thing I’ve always stood by. It’s what inspires me.”

The firefighter currently has two pairs of glasses, for both indoors and outdoors, and is learning his colors from crayons.

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