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A
Veterans Day Salute
by Rhonda K. Davis,
U.S. Navy Veteran
Despite being
discharged for “homosexual admission” in July
of this year, I am proud of the 10 years of active
duty and 2 years of reserve service I gave this
country. In return for my commitment, the
U.S. Navy gave me excellent training and
education, travel to all corners of the world, and
bullets on my broadcaster’s resume that would
even make Katie Couric proud. The American
military offers THE best opportunities a person
could ever hope for. The Navy was my ticket
out of the rural South and into the news anchor
seat at a TV station in exotic Tokyo , Japan .
What the Armed Forces did for me, it can do for
anyone who’s stuck in a dead-end job, too poor
to go to college.
But this year I
spent Veterans Day feeling sad for the thousands
and thousands of young kids who won’t be able to
enjoy the travel I have enjoyed and who won’t be
able to obtain the same kind of training and
education I received … not because they’re
unfit for the military, but because they’re
openly gay; young people like the students of
Vassar College who refuse to accept “don’t
ask, don’t tell” as a condition of service.
On November 3,
2006, more than 50 students from Vassar made the
trip from Poughkeepsie , New York to Manhattan to
join students from Columbia University and
Soulforce in demonstrating against the “don’t
ask, don’t tell” policy. I accompanied
12 of them into the military recruiting station at
Times Square and watched as they tried to enlist,
and were all turned away for being gay, lesbian,
or bisexual. These are young people who were
willing to give their lives to their country; they
were willing to give up the many personal freedoms
service members must sacrifice, but they were NOT
willing to sacrifice their own dignity. They
were NOT willing to live a life of secrecy and
deceit. And why should they have to?
These people are from a generation that is more
accepting of homosexuality, not like my generation
where homosexuals had to accept the closet as
their only option. These students are openly
gay to their friends, family, professors, and
fellow students; why should they have to go into
the closet – one they’ve never had to be in --
in order to be accepted into the United States
military?
While a crowd of
such students quietly protested outside the
recruiters’ door with duct tape on their mouths
and signs in their hands that read, “Right to
Serve,” those of us inside had a unique
opportunity to talk to recruiters from the Army,
Air Force, and Marine Corps about DADT. We
sat inside the tiny, stuffy recruiting station
talking for nearly two hours, and although the
recruiters’ hands were tied by the “don’t
ask, don’t tell” policy, all was not a lost
cause that day. By the end of our
discussion, the recruiters’ eyes were opened to
the oppression the policy means for GLBT service
members.
One strapping,
young Marine recruiter said to us, “I wouldn’t
have a problem serving with gays, but I can’t
process you in because of this policy. This
isn’t my policy, but I have to enforce it.”
So I took the opportunity to ask him the age-old
question about showers – which seems to be the
backbone (for at least some people) of why gays
aren’t allowed to openly serve. “Would
you have a problem sharing living quarters and
having to shower with an openly gay man?” I
asked.
He said, “No, of
course not. I don’t care if a guy is gay,
as long as he’s a good Marine. I’m
straight; I have a wife; that’s my life.
If someone else is different, that’s their life,
and I don’t have a problem with that, so long as
he doesn’t have a problem with me being
straight.”
And that, I
believe, sums up America ’s new attitude about
gays in the military. “Don’t ask,
don’t tell” is not what the majority of
service members want; it’s not what the majority
of the American public wants, and it’s not what
the students of Vassar College want. They
simply want to join the military. They want,
and deserve, the right to see the world, to
proudly wear the military uniform … to serve
this country… to retire, one day, as veterans
… to be celebrated on Veterans Day for their
commitment and hard work.
Six Vassar students
(Curt, Clare, Julia, Leslie, David, and Pete) were
arrested on November 3rd – ironically a little
more than a week before Veterans Day -- because
they refused to leave the recruiter station in
Times Square until they were processed into the
military. The rest of the duct-taped young people
kept vigil outside the station, holding their
signs with cold hands, until 5:00 PM to show
passersby that the youth of today does NOT accept
“don’t ask, don’t tell” as the way things
must be. The next day, the six who were
arrested were released from custody and no charges
were pressed.
To all these
students, and to the hundreds like them standing
in the cold outside locked recruiter stations, I
salute you for the service you are doing right now
for this country. Because you took a stand on an
issue you believe in, because you continue to
challenge this antiquated, prejudicial military
law … I pay tribute to you, and I hope some day
you’ll have the freedom and liberty to defend
this country’s freedom and liberty.
Petty Officer 1st Class
Rhonda K. Davis,
U.S Navy Veteran
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