 |
September's
Heroes
by Denny
Meyer |
New
York
Just
over
one
week
after
the
ten
year
memorial
of
the
terrorist
assault
on
America,
gay
and
lesbian
American
service
members
were
able
to
serve
openly
in
freedom
for
the
first
time
in
history.
At
the
time
of
the
911
attack,
many
young
gay
people
patriotically
sacrificed
their
freedom
and
volunteered
to
serve
their
country.
And
in
the
decade
that
followed,
many
more
matured
to
the
age
when
they
too
could
volunteer
to
be a
part
of
something
greater
than
themselves.
Their
courage
is
an
inspiration
that
has
often
been
disparaged
and
forgotten
amid
the
greater
ongoing
sacrifice
of
honorable
young
lives
in
service
to
our
nation.
Because
they
had
to
serve
in
silence
about
who
they
were,
so
many
of
our
lost
brave
brothers
and
sisters
are
unknown.
There
are
two
“known”
gay
fatalities
in
combat
in
the
past
ten
years
of
war:
Major
Alan
Rogers
in
Iraq,
and
Corporal
Andrew
Wilfahrt
in
Afghanistan.
How
many
others
are
there
who
can
no
longer
speak
for
themselves
to
say,
“Remember
me
for
who
I
was.”
If
only
they
could
have
lived
to
see
their
day
of
freedom
and
recognition,
for
both
pride
in
service,
and
Pride
in
who
they
are.
May
our
memory
of
them
and
their
sacrifice
never
fade
as
we
salute
our
flag.
Among
the
thousands
who
were
killed
on
911,
there
are
also
two
well
known
gay
fatalities,
among
others,
both
of
whom
bravely
stepped
forward
to
serve:
Father
Mychal
Judge,
a
New
York
City
Fire
Department
chaplain,
who
rushed
into
a
burning
tower
to
minister
to
first
responders
and
himself
perished
with
them;
and
Mark
Bingham,
a
passenger
on
flight
93
who
died
assaulting
the
terrorists
to
prevent
their
plane
from
destroying
our
Capitol.
How
many
others
are
there,
who
perished
that
day,
who
can
no
longer
speak
for
themselves
to
say,
“Remember
me
for
who
I
was.”
May
our
memory
of
them
and
their
sacrifice
never
fade
as
we
salute
our
flag.
We
all
have
personal
memories
of
the
day
of
horror
that
we
will
never
forget.
As I
turn
65
this
September,
I
remember
my
generation’s
marker
as
the
day
that
President
Kennedy
was
killed.
I
was
in
my
early
teens
when
he
told
us:
“Ask
not
what
your
country
can
do
for
you,
ask
what
you
can
do
for
your
country.”
And
by
those
words,
many
of
us
were
inspired
to
serve;
being
gay
didn’t
stop
us.
The
past
decade’s
young
generation’s
patriotism
was
inspired
by
911;
and
young
gay
and
lesbian
Americans
did
not
hesitate
to
step
forward.
May
we
salute
the
memory
of
all
of
our
brothers
and
sisters
sacrificed
in
the
name
of
freedom,
in
this
month
of
our
Pride.
© 2011 Gay Military Signal
