"Blind Willie" is a short story written by Stephen King. It was originally published his 1997 limited-edition collection Six Stories, and later included in his 1999 collection Hearts in Atlantis.
Summary[]
The story concerns a Vietnam veteran's penance after the war. The main character in this story is Willie Shearman, and the story takes place over a single day in December 1983. At first we see him commuting from Connecticut to New York City like any normal businessman; we then discover that he elaborately disguises himself as a blind beggar who takes hundreds of dollars a day in donations from passersby, keeping the bills for himself and distributing the coins to various churches and charities. We also learn that he was in combat with John Sullivan, and saved his life; and that Willie keeps a scrapbook about Carol Gerber, and has never forgotten the day that she was beaten up by Harry Doolin while he and Richie O'Meara held her down.