OPERATION GOLDEN EAGLE
American Veterans For Equal
Rights
20th Anniversary DC Event in
June
Honors LGBT WWII Vets
by Danny Ingram, AVER
President |
|
This
June, American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER)
celebrates 20 years of working for LGBT equality in
the US Armed Forces with Operation Golden Eagle, a
series of events planned in conjunction with Capital
Pride in Washington DC, the city where AVER was born
in 1990. AVER members from across America will
gather in the nation's capital Jun. 11-13, 2010, to
commemorate the founding of AVER, the oldest
nation-wide LGBT Veterans Service Organization in
the United States. The focus of the celebration
will be LGBT World War II veterans, those men and
women of the 'greatest generation' who defeated the
forces of tyranny in the largest conflict the world
has ever known and returned home to the United
States to found the modern Gay Rights movement. The
anniversary event has been named Operation Golden
Eagle in honor of the 'golden years' of these first
generation LGBT Americans, many of whom wore on
their uniforms the famous golden eagle patch
(nicknamed the 'ruptured duck') to distinguish their
status as a returning WWII vet.
A main event of Operation Golden Eagle will be a
wreath placing ceremony at Arlington National
Cemetery scheduled for 1:35p.m. EDT on Friday, Jun.
11. The wreath placing complement will include AVER
National President Danny Ingram, and three prominent
gay World War II veterans: Fr. John J. McNeill, Dr.
Frank Kameny, and Mr. Jack Strouss.
McNeill, who served under General George S. Patton,
was captured at the Battle of the Bulge, imprisoned
in a Nazi POW camp, and received the Purple Heart,
returned to the US and was ordained as a priest in
the Society of Jesus. Following the publication of
his book "The Church and the Homosexual," a landmark
work on gay and lesbian spirituality, Fr. McNeill
came under the scrutiny of the Vatican's
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then
headed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope
Benedict XVI, who ordered him to remain silent.
After refusing a further order from Ratzinger, in
1988, to cease all ministry to LGBT people, McNeill
was expelled from the Society of Jesus after 40
years in the order.
Harvard-educated astronomer Frank Kameny returned
from fighting Nazis in WWII only to be dismissed
from his position as an astronomer in the Army Map
Service in 1957, because of his homosexuality. Dr.
Kameny went on to form the Mattachine Society of
Washington, DC, one of the earliest and most
influential gay rights organizations of the 1960s.
In 1971, Kameny ran for Congress from Washington DC
as the first openly gay candidate for national
office. He was also one of the founders of the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) and
helped found the Gay Rights National Lobby from
which the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) was formed.
Mr. Jack Strouss of Atlanta, also served under
General George S. Patton in the European Theater of
WWII. Strouss' transport ship was torpedoed from
beneath him in the English Channel, and he was
rescued by a Free French frigate. He went on to
fight in the final drive to Germany and served in
the Army of Occupation following the Nazi
surrender. When Strouss returned home to the US, he
took a job working for the US Department of Civil
Service, only to be fired during the infamous
McCarthy era due to his homosexuality.
Fr. John McNeill will do a book signing at the
Dignity Center, located at 721 8th Street Southeast,
Washington, DC 20003-2802, near the Eastern Market
Metro Station, from 10a.m. - 11:30a.m. EDT on
Saturday, Jun. 12. AVER members are encouraged to
come meet Fr. McNeill, one of our most distinguished
members, and help support his trip to DC for
Operation Golden Eagle, which he is attending at his
own expense.
On Saturday, Jun. 12, AVER will lead the annual DC
Pride Parade as the event's official color guard.
World War II dignitaries will ride in designated
vehicles in the parade, and all LGBT veterans are
invited to join the color guard. The AVER color
guard will carry a special vintage silk 48-star
World War II era national flag and a World War II
memorial flag in honor of Operation Golden Eagle.
On Sunday, Jun. 13, AVER will staff a "Recruiting
Station" at DC's Capitol Pride Festival to recruit
new members for the AVER National Capital Chapter,
which the national organization hopes to build as
one of its most prominent chapters. Members of AVER
from all over the nation will help staff the booth
throughout the hours of the Pride Festival.
To top off Operation Golden Eagle, members of AVER
will present a "taps" ceremony from the main stage
of Capital Pride with "all hands present." All WWII
veterans will be invited onto the stage to be
recognized for their service. The taps ceremony
will honor all LGBT service members who have given
their lives in the defense of our nation's freedom,
especially Army Maj. Alan G. Rogers, who became was
the first nationally-known gay combat casualty in
modern US history when he as killed by an improvised
explosive device while leading a patrol in Baghdad,
Iraq, on Jan. 27, 2008. Rogers also served as an
officer in the National Capital Chapter of American
Veterans for Equal Rights.
Planned events yet to be scheduled:
AVER will conduct a wreath laying ceremony at the
grave site of Tech. Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, who was
one of the first and most prominent gay service
members to challenge the military's ban on gay
service in the 1970's. A recipient of both the
Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, Matlovich's grave
marker bears the famous words "WHEN I WAS IN THE
MILITARY THEY GAVE ME A MEDAL FOR KILLING TWO MEN
AND A DISCHARGE FOR LOVING ONE." Matlovich rests in
Washington's Congressional Cemetery where AVER hopes
to establish a national LGBT war memorial in the
future. This event is not yet scheduled.
AVER hopes to sponsor a Saturday press event at the
World War II Memorial featuring our three
distinguished VIPs and other LGBT WWII veterans to
speak on the injustice of the "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" issue and use their "gravitas" to help place a
final nail in the coffin of the military's ban on
gay service members. In order to encourage WWII
vets to attend the press event, AVER is offering
free Lifetime Membership to every WWII veteran who
participates. AVER hopes this will be the largest
gathering of openly LGBT WWII veterans in US history
and one of the most powerful collective voices ever
to target the injustice of the gay ban.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
Sponsor a WWII Vet: In order to make Operation
Golden Eagle a success, AVER is in need of LGBT
World War II veterans to attend the event. Anyone
interested in participating in June or helping
sponsor a WWII veteran should contact AVER President
Danny Ingram at
president@aver.us.
Help is also needed in logistical support, including
local transportation, an advance team to help with
permits and locations, and funding.
Come to Washington and participate: AVER is hoping
to make Operation Golden Eagle a tremendous
experience for LGBT veterans of all ages from all
eras. For more information, continue to watch for
news releases on the AVER National website at
http://www.aver.us. Most of all AVER is about
honoring service, and we hope to take the
opportunity in June to say "thank you" to all LGBT
veterans for your service and your dedication to
helping end the injustice of the ban. Please join
us in Washington, DC, the weekend of Jun. 11-13 as
we honor our first generation and we celebrate the
camaraderie unique to those of us who have served in
the armed forces. There is an organization for you
as an LGBT veteran, and it is AVER. Come see what
we are about and consider membership in the only
LGBT Veterans Service Organization recognized by the
VA.