Stories From The Frontline: A Love Letter To A G.I.

This is the final letter in the Servicemembers Legal Defense Networks series "Stories From The Frontline: Letter's to President Barack Obama" urging him and Congress to take action on the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. As SLDN notes, “Even with the recent votes, it is important for all gay and lesbian, active-duty service members, including the reserves and the national guard, to know they’re at risk. They must continue to serve in silence under the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law that remains on the books. Congress and the Pentagon need to stay on track to get repeal finalized, hopefully no later than first quarter 2011.” You can read the whole series of SLDN's campaign here.

May 28, 2010

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 4^th Class Aubrey Sarvis

United States Army

The letter as published by ONE Magazine:

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

(Reprinted with permission of ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, www.onearchives.org, ONE Magazine, September 1961)

Off for a Few Days

It's been quite a week, capped with the vote in the House and the Senate Armed Services Committee on the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal compromise. The White House put out a statement of support on the votes, which will give the power to the Pentagon and White House to real DADT after the study is complete in December. The President said he was "pleased" to see "steps" forward to repeal. With that, it's not over until it's over.

I'm off for a few days now, enjoying the long weekend and taking a few days next week. Rebroadcasts will air, and I'll be jumping in here and on twitter and Facebook in the fan group page, so make sure to follow me there. Have a great holiday weekend!

Today on the Signorile Show

Today could potentially be the first day in the legislative repeal process of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law -- or rather "conditional future repeal," as one activist called the repeal compromise. Senator Carl Levin, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, has said to expect a vote to come sometime after lunch today. He has also agreed to a request by Senator John McCain to let the hearings be in an "open session," which is very rare. McCain has also said he plans to filibuster any attempt to get repeal of DADT in the Defense Authorization Bill, say "I'm going to do everything I can to support the men and women of the military and to fight what is clearly a political agenda." While McCain has made his decision to filibuster, we have now gotten word that Senator Robert Byrd, will support the compromise to repeal DADT. However, Byrd's support came with a price. According to Firedog Lake, "Byrd added additional language to the Lieberman amendment, which is now assured passage in the Senate Armed Services Committee, which adds a 60-day review period to the release of the Pentagon study on implementation." We continue to ask that you keep pressure on Washington and call your Representatives and Senators to support the repeal process: 202-224-3121.

It's DAY 37 since the leak in the Gulf and while we wait results from project "Top Kill," further reports are showing that BP known of problems with the current oil well and had "for financial reasons" used riskier methods to plug this leak. Today, the president is scheduled to hold a press conference regarding the clean up effort of the Gulf coast and debunk the Republican's claims that this is his Katrina, a talking point the GOP has been pushing. As poor as the administrations response has been, can we go as far as to say this is his Katrina? We'll discuss today.

Guest / 4:30pm EST - Kim Severson, author of Spoon Fed: How Eight Cooks Saved My Life, joins us this afternoon to tell the story of how eight renowned female cooks taught her the lessons that guided her to sobriety, fulfillment and joy.

The fight for marriage equality continues, where in Boston, "A lawyer for the state attorney general’s office urged a judge yesterday to strike down the 1996 federal law that defines marriage as a union exclusively between a man and woman, marking the second time this month the judge has heard arguments over whether the statute is constitutional." We'll talk about the details of this trial this afternoon.

Are you aware of all the toxic things in your home? A story in the New York Times yesterday focuses on the new idea of detoxing your home from all the pollutants that could be potentially fatal. We'll go through today this idea of a Domestic Detox.

We'll go through some listener survey's this afternoon, so call in if you feel the same way!

And, Mike will be leaving for vacation tomorrow, so we'll be doing our "Angel, Turkey, Gassie and Climax of the Week" this afternoon!

These stories and so much more, today on The Michelangelo Signorile Show!

Join the Janet Folger-Porter Facebook Fan Page to get Janet on the show!

And, don't forget, you can follow Mike on Twitter and Facebook! (If you already follow Mike, be sure to follow my tweets too!)

Listen to The Michelangelo Signorile Show weekdays live from 2-6 pm ET on Sirius XM's OutQ: Sirius 109, XM 98 and on the Sirius XM iPhone app. Not a subscriber? Not a problem! Listen online any time with a free seven-day pass or, if you have an iPhone or Blackberry, go to the app store and download Sirius XM for free, for a 7-day trial, and listen on your phone.

Stories From The Frontline: Army Major General Vance Coleman (Ret.)

Anticipating the markup of the Defense Authorization Bill in the Armed Services Committees of the Senate and the House, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has launched a campaign, publishing open letters daily to President Obama from gay and lesbian servicemembers to urge the president to get "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repealed this year. As we've discussed on the show, the president must pressure senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee to put repeal as an amendment in the Defense Authorization Bill. And the president must put it in the defense budget he sends to Congress.

Every day we're on-air on the show, as well as here on the blog, we will share a letter, along with coalition of other blogs and commentators, that SLDN has highlighted from a servicemember written to President Obama.

May 27, 2010

President Barack H. Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I served my country for over thirty years. I enlisted in the army as a private and retired as a Major General. During that time, I saw a great deal of change in the Armed Forces. Racial segregation was ended in the ranks, women were recognized as equals and we moved to an all volunteer force.

My father was a laborer, my mother a domestic worker. I knew that there was no way I was headed for college. As a young Black Man I enlisted in the army long before President Truman desegregated the armed forces.

I served in segregated units (all Black) before being selected for Officers Candidate School. I then attended an integrated Leadership Academy and then Officers Candidate School which was also integrated. After graduation from OCS I was assigned to a combat arms unit for which I had been trained. I was reassigned to a service unit (Graves Registration) that was all Black.

The message was clear: It did not matter that I was qualified to serve in a combat arms unit that happen to be all white. It only mattered that I was Black.

Mr. President, I know what it is like to be thought of as second-class, and I know what it is like to have your hard work dismissed because of who you are or what you look like. I also know what a difference it made to me and others when President Truman eliminated segregation in the Armed Forces and placed qualification ahead of discrimination.

As a retired Army Commander, I also know how disruptive it is to remove a trained skilled member from a unit. In Korea, I had a Sergeant First Class in my unit who was gay. it was no secret. He was in charge of the unit’s communication. He was essential to our performance and our survival and he was dam good at his job. If I had to remove him, our unit’s effectiveness, as well as morale, most certainly would have been harmed.

Military leadership is about being able to constantly adapt to change, and I have seen the Army implement significant change and react to new directives since I enlisted. Perhaps the greatest military change is that we are now an all volunteer force. I cannot believe that we could have made that transition successfully if the services were still segregated or if the roles of women in the ranks had not been greatly expanded.

The services have, for the most part, kept pace with changes in American society as to matters of race and gender. Likewise, they must now keep pace with the changed attitude among the American people, especially younger generations, concerning sexual orientation. If they do not, military service will become a less viable option for more and more young people, and the quality of our forces will suffer. I suggest that the warriors of tomorrow will not want to become a part of an institution that does not respect their peers.

The men and women who volunteer to serve, especially in dangerous times, are the most important resource of our armed services. This includes the lesbian and gay troops who have served – and – are serving honorably. Just like their heterosexual service members, they risk their lives to defend our country. Our country owes it to them, and to all our troops to treat all who serve with respect and gratitude.

Our armed services believe in, and promote, the idea that one person can make a real difference. To commanders on the ground in Iraq, an Arabic linguist can make a difference. To a parent, whose son is bleeding on the battlefield, one lesbian nurse can make a difference.

You, too, Mr. President, can and will make a real difference here. You can make a difference in whether “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed this year, and whether implementation comes shortly thereafter.

As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Mr. President, do all you can; stand with us and work with us to end this denigration of our American values.

Respectfully,

Major General Vance Coleman

United States Army (Ret.)

The DADT Compromise: Pro and Con

This is full audio from interviews on the show today the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal compromise. Aaron Belkin of the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, wrote a piece fully supporting the compromise in Congress and criticizing some who had reservations.

Kip Williams of GetEqual articulated the group's view that that, though it doesn't oppose moving forward with the vote on the DADT compromise, it is not acceptable and doesn't lay out a timeline for when the discharges stop. Kip had protested president Obama last night at a Barbara Boxer fundraiser in San Francisco and was arrested for heckling the president.

Aaron Belkin interview



Kip Williams interview

Today on the Signorile Show

It's DAY 36 of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and reports from a Congressional committee assigned to study the blast, "there were strong warning signs that something was terribly wrong with the well" hours before the blast. And today, after few failed attempts to contain the leak to at least try and collect more oil, clean up crews will now attempt to plug the leak, launching what is now known as Top Kill. The idea of this procedure is to shoot fluids down to plug the "clog the well and stop the torrent of oil." We discuss the results coming out of the Gulf this afternoon.

As we get closer to seeing repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy become a reality, direct action is still taking place to keep leaders in Washington engaged on the issue. In a deja vu moment, President Obama attended a fundraiser for Senator Barbara Boxer in California, when GetEQUAL co-founder Kip Williams heckled the president, because Williams says, "the policy and practice (of DADT) doesn't have to be phased out until Robert Gates decides he's ready to do it." Keep the pressure on your Senators and Representatives and make sure they are voting for repeal: 202-224-3121.

Guest / 2:30pm EST - Dr. Aaron Belkin, Director of the Palm Center, joins us this afternoon to discuss the meeting Monday between gay activists, Congressional leaders and White House officials that decided on the DADT compromise and why he feels this is beneficial for the gay and lesbian servicemembers.

Guest / 3:30pm EST - Kip Williams, a co-founder of GetEQUAL and who heckled President Obama last night at a fundraiser, joins us this afternoon to discuss why the DADT compromise is not sufficient and why we need to keep putting the pressure on Washington.

Guest / 4:30pm EST - Researchers estimate that more than six million hoarders live in the United States. And whether we're savers, collectors, or compulsive cleaners, none of us is free of the impulses that drive hoarders to extremes. Joining us to discuss hoarding, Gail Steketee, co-author of Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things.

The Vatican has been under fire because of the abuse cases coming to light in recent months. There have been lawsuits brought to court but the Vatican has claimed immunity. The Obama administration, in a brief sent to the Supreme Court, has supported the Vatican's claims of immunity. We'll get into this story as well.

All these stories and much more, today on The Michelangelo Signorile Show!

Join the Janet Folger-Porter Facebook Fan Page to get Janet on the show!

And, don't forget, you can follow Mike on Twitter and Facebook! (If you already follow Mike, be sure to follow my tweets too!)

Listen to The Michelangelo Signorile Show weekdays live from 2-6 pm ET on Sirius XM's OutQ: Sirius 109, XM 98 and on the Sirius XM iPhone app. Not a subscriber? Not a problem! Listen online any time with a free seven-day pass or, if you have an iPhone or Blackberry, go to the app store and download Sirius XM for free, for a 7-day trial, and listen on your phone.

Stories From The Frontlines: Former Marine Corps Corporal Juan C. Perezortiz

Anticipating the markup of the Defense Authorization Bill in the Armed Services Committees of the Senate and the House, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has launched a campaign, publishing open letters daily to President Obama from gay and lesbian servicemembers to urge the president to get "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repealed this year. As we've discussed on the show, the president must pressure senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee to put repeal as an amendment in the Defense Authorization Bill. And the president must put it in the defense budget he sends to Congress.

Every day we're on-air on the show, as well as here on the blog, we will share a letter, along with coalition of other blogs and commentators, that SLDN has highlighted from a servicemember written to President Obama.

May 26, 2010

President Barack H. Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

As an 18-year-old, first generation immigrant from Mexico and a newly sworn in American citizen, military service seemed the best way to repay my fellow citizens for giving my family and me a shot at a better life.

I enlisted in the Marine Corps as an Aircraft Ordnance Man. USMC Boot Camp was physically and mentally challenging, but it didn’t compare to the persecution I would encounter later in the Marines.

As a new PFC in an Aircraft Ordnance (AO) Shop in California, I developed a reputation for being a hard worker, always looking for extra duties and opportunities to expand my skills. As a result, my work ethic and excellent evaluations, I was promoted to an E3, a lance corporal. These were my best days in the military. Unfortunately, they were short numbered. With the arrival of a new gunnery sergeant, my career in the Marines soon became a struggle to survive.

The gunnery sergeant enjoyed socializing with the junior Marines in the shop, frequently taking them out drinking and to the strip clubs. I was expected to participate. I tried to be a team player so I would not be singled out. The shop soon became the squadron’s “frat pad.” Most conversation revolved around girls and hookups, often described by my comrades as “bitches and hoes.”

This behavior, beyond being tolerated, was often sponsored and enjoyed by my superiors. “Gunny” usually joined in, bragging about cheating on his wife. This environment was repulsive and contradictory to the core values of the Marine Corps: honor, courage, commitment — values I tried to live by. I was miserable, but felt powerless to do anything about it.

I still went out drinking with the guys, but tried to avoid going to strip bars or swapping stories about sexual experiences. But then Gunny became suspicious. He told me he suspected I was a “faggot” and that we should see what the rest of the guys thought about it.

Everything changed that day. My evaluation scores began to drop dramatically — from the 4.9 out of 5 average I had for three years to a 1.0. After obtaining copies of my evaluations, I learned that my direct supervisors’ scores had been crossed out and lowered by the gunnery sergeant. I had never failed at anything in life before and I was not going to let anyone tell me I was not a good Marine.

My only way out, I believed, was to transfer out of my unit. At first my requests were repeatedly denied. Eventually though, after numerous letters of recommendations from other military officers, I was transferred.

I was promoted and, when I left my new unit, I had numerous letters of recommendation. The detachment’s commanding officer wrote accolades such as, “You are a Marine with exceptional core values… a great asset to the Armed Services” and “You are a Marine of great caliber and will go far in your military career.”

Unfortunately, I was required to return to my former training squadron just months before my six year contract was up. I was back under Gunny’s command. Those last few months were a living nightmare. I constantly dreaded going to work and was afraid for my physical safety.

With the support of friends, I managed to serve eight years. I love the Marines and, under different command circumstances, I would have continued my service. In three weeks, I’ll graduate from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in structural engineering. With the your help and with open service in place at the Pentagon, I’d signup and serve my country again.

Mr. President, thank you for supporting repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I hope that, with your leadership, no other service member will have to go through the persecution I endured in order to serve our country.

Respectfully,

Former Corporal Juan C. Perezortiz

United States Marine Corps