May 28, 2010
Posted by GorgeousBoys in Celebrity Gossip, Politics, Diversity & Rights, Special Reports
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President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
For the past month, we have sent you personal letters from those harmed by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” With the votes in the House and the Senate Armed Services Committee, we are bringing our series to a close. The final letter we are sharing with you was written by a World War II soldier to another service member. It is a love letter penned on the occasion of their anniversary.
The letter, which follows below, was published in September 1961 by ONE Magazine – an early gay magazine based out of Los Angeles. In 2000, Bob Connelly, an adjunct professor of LGBT studies at American University, found a copy of the letter in the Library of Congress. He brought the letter to the attention of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network last month.
We sincerely thank Mr. Connelly for his research and the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives for granting permission for the letter to be republished.
Please accept this letter on the behalf of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members on active-duty, in the reserve and in the National Guard; those who have been discharged; and those who didn’t enlist because of the discriminatory law now being dismantled.
With great respect,
Former Specialist 4th Class Aubrey Sarvis
United States Army
The letter as published by ONE Magazine:
Love Letter to a G.I.
May 28, 2010
Click Image To Enlarge
Dear Dave,
This is in memory of an anniversary – the anniversary of October 27th, 1943, when I first heard you singing in North Africa. That song brings memories of the happiest times I’ve ever known. Memories of a GI show troop – curtains made from barrage balloons – spotlights made from cocoa cans – rehearsals that ran late into the evenings – and a handsome boy with a wonderful tenor voice. Opening night at a theatre in Canastel – perhaps a bit too much muscatel, and someone who understood. Exciting days playing in the beautiful and stately Municipal Opera House in Oran – a misunderstanding – an understanding in the wings just before opening chorus.
Drinks at “Coq d’or” – dinner at the “Auberge” – a ring and promise given. The show 1st Armoured – muscatel, scotch, wine – someone who had to be carried from the truck and put to bed in his tent. A night of pouring rain and two very soaked GIs beneath a solitary tree on an African plain. A borrowed French convertible – a warm sulphur spring, the cool Mediterranean, and a picnic of “rations” and hot cokes. Two lieutenants who were smart enough to know the score, but not smart enough to realize that we wanted to be alone. A screwball piano player – competition – miserable days and lonely nights. The cold, windy night we crawled through the window of a GI theatre and fell asleep on a cot backstage, locked in each other’s arms – the shock when we awoke and realized that miraculously we hadn’t been discovered. A fast drive to a cliff above the sea – pictures taken, and a stop amid the purple grapes and cool leaves of a vineyard.
The happiness when told we were going home – and the misery when we learned that we would not be going together. Fond goodbyes on a secluded beach beneath the star-studded velvet of an African night, and the tears that would not be stopped as I stood atop the sea-wall and watched your convoy disappear over the horizon.
We vowed we’d be together again “back home,” but fate knew better – you never got there. And so, Dave, I hope that where ever you are these memories are as precious to you as they are to me.
Goodnight, sleep well my love.
Brian Keith
1
Gay service members who reveal their sexual orientations during congressional testimony would be immune from forced discharges under a bill introduced Wednesday, as lawmakers prepare to consider repealing the ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military.
The legislation's author, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., said the bill is needed to ensure that Congress has reliable and relevant witnesses at its disposal if the House holds hearings next year on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
The bill also would protect from retaliatory personnel actions any members of the military who testify for or against lifting the 16-year ban.
"How can there be anything more important than a gay member of the service having the right to testify before the Armed Services Committee of the Congress that he is under the aegis of," Hastings told The Associated Press. "But if they come and testify, that testimony could be used against them under 'don't ask, don't tell.' In my judgment, it's just a question of fairness."
Hastings so far has secured 27 Democratic co-sponsors for his "Honest and Open Testimony Act." But the measure also has met surprising opposition from leading gay veterans groups and other Democrats who have been at the forefront of the movement to repeal the policy.
Alexander Nichols, executive director of Servicemembers United, an advocacy group for gay Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, said the legislation is good in theory but on a practical level would not protect gay service members who out themselves to Congress from becoming pariahs within their units.
"This proposal is, of course, well-intentioned and the idea behind it is certainly noble, but I believe it is a bit naive in its conceit and doesn't reflect a thoughtfulness on what this would mean for gay and lesbian service members," Nichols said. He thinks it is better for gay veterans to share their experiences than to put active duty service members at risk.
Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, a think tank devoted to gays in the military at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said that if the bill passes, it would be the first dent in "don't ask, don't tell" since the policy prohibiting service members from acknowledging they are gay was adopted in 1993. As such, it represents an important step toward full repeal, Belkin said.
Bill Would Allow Gay Service Members To Testify Openly In US Congress
Gay service members who reveal their sexual orientations during congressional testimony would be immune from forced discharges under a bill introduced Wednesday, as lawmakers prepare to consider repealing the ban on gays serving openly in the U.S. military.
The legislation's author, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., said the bill is needed to ensure that Congress has reliable and relevant witnesses at its disposal if the House holds hearings next year on the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
The bill also would protect from retaliatory personnel actions any members of the military who testify for or against lifting the 16-year ban.
"How can there be anything more important than a gay member of the service having the right to testify before the Armed Services Committee of the Congress that he is under the aegis of," Hastings told The Associated Press. "But if they come and testify, that testimony could be used against them under 'don't ask, don't tell.' In my judgment, it's just a question of fairness."
Hastings so far has secured 27 Democratic co-sponsors for his "Honest and Open Testimony Act." But the measure also has met surprising opposition from leading gay veterans groups and other Democrats who have been at the forefront of the movement to repeal the policy.
Alexander Nichols, executive director of Servicemembers United, an advocacy group for gay Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, said the legislation is good in theory but on a practical level would not protect gay service members who out themselves to Congress from becoming pariahs within their units.
"This proposal is, of course, well-intentioned and the idea behind it is certainly noble, but I believe it is a bit naive in its conceit and doesn't reflect a thoughtfulness on what this would mean for gay and lesbian service members," Nichols said. He thinks it is better for gay veterans to share their experiences than to put active duty service members at risk.
Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, a think tank devoted to gays in the military at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said that if the bill passes, it would be the first dent in "don't ask, don't tell" since the policy prohibiting service members from acknowledging they are gay was adopted in 1993. As such, it represents an important step toward full repeal, Belkin said.
"I don't think there is any down side," he said. "Politically, it is a very poignant thing to put a gay person on the stand because that is shining a spotlight on the lie that structures the whole policy. The move, in and of itself, before they even say anything, is powerful ammunition."Since "don't ask, don't tell" took effect, nearly 13,000 troops have been dismissed because it became known they were gay. President Barack Obama said he favors lifting the ban but has asked for more time to persuade opponents in the Pentagon. U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., the first Iraq war veteran elected to Congress, has been shepherding a "don't ask, don't tell" repeal bill toward hearings in the House, but he was not among the lawmakers who signed onto Hastings' measure. Story: The Associated Press
