Gay war veteran speaks out for equal rights Ukrae's ary | Rters

Contents:

• WATCH: SOLDIERS FALL LOVE THE JUNGL OF VIETNAM THIS MOVG GAY WAR DRAMA
• A GAY PRISONER OF WAR
• TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY
• NEW WWI MOVIE TO FEATURE A GAY LOVE STORY
• FILM REVIEW; GAY WORLD WAR II: ABE BY THE MILARY
• GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME
• GAY WAR VETERAN SPEAKS OUT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS UKRAE'S ARY

WATCH: SOLDIERS FALL LOVE THE JUNGL OF VIETNAM THIS MOVG GAY WAR DRAMA

The “war movie” is a genre as old as the medium of film self, but the new drama Love In Country still manag to liver somethg unexpected and rare: A war movie about gay men. Well before “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, ” this was a world where servicemen uld be discharged simply for beg homosexual, but reports have shown that the Army was so short on personnel durg the Vietnam War that some gay men were admted to serve.

Love In Country is -wrten and -directed by Richard Gayton, who has non-bat ary experience durg the Vietnam War, and then spent many years workg as a Navy psychologist. Gayton felt pelled to brg this story to life as a way to honor the queer people who have served the ary throughout history, many of whom ma the ultimate sacrifice for a untry that refed to let them live their liv openly.

Though safe for the moment thanks to Jean’s quick-thkg plan to pass her off as a Gallic employee of his fay’s lndry bs, Sara watch horror as her homosexual protector is forced to a Nazi labor mp as a tragic rult of a bad cisn ma by Jean’s troublome brother Jacqu (Nilas Gob). This is a betifully tragic queer war film, showg the harsh reali of France durg the German occupatn as affects to both Jews and Homosexuals. There are some great exampl of that terrifyg time, and even how they found the abily to enjoy themselv; the scene Groff’s is rather enjoyable – until the tth that homosexuals are now beg targeted sks .

A GAY PRISONER OF WAR

In 1930s Berl, homosexual Max (Clive Owen) sleeps wh German officer Wolf (Nikolaj Coster-Wald), only to see him killed by his fellow Nazis the next morng.

There’s a creepy, homoerotic-horror feel to the film, and Rubenste mak a likable, good-lookg lead- which mak what happens to him all the more upsettg.

He travels to the untry to meet his boyiend’s mother who had no ia her ad son was gay or had a lover, and the sry brother Francis (Pierre-Yv Cardal). The are the voic explag what has been like to be a gay man1 the Amerin ary over the prev seventy or so years, om World War II veterans their late eighti to young servicemen on active duty. "I remember beg the Castro, " says John Forrett (army rerve, 1987–99), "and watchg the TV at a bar wh some iends, watchg Al Gore and Bill Clton swearg that if they beme the tag team for Ameri they were gog to get rid of the harassment of gays and lbians servg the ary.

TELL: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF GAY MEN THE MILARY

" Gay people were allowed the ary but only as long as they didn’t reveal their sexualy; to facilate this, all members of the ary were also prohibed om quirg about anyone’s possible orientatn.

Servicemen were advised that until then the policy would still apply, and that they uld potentially face s sanctns if they intify themselv publicly as gay.

’ "Air Force #1: "Two of my iends were disvered, both officers—’s a long and arduo procs for an officer to get kicked out for beg gay. You’re a Mare, you don’t md gettg dirty, gog out to the field and not showerg for weeks at a, if you were gay, when you have to shower wh all the other guys you’d get all exced.

NEW WWI MOVIE TO FEATURE A GAY LOVE STORY

I mean, if you want to hi, the Mare Corps is one of the bt plac to do that, bee nobody wants to adm they are standg next to a gay guy. One Man’s Operatn Iraqi FreedomMany gay servicemen the morn era—cludg Eric Alva (Mar, 1991–2004)—have pleted long ary reers whout their sexualy ever beg revealed.

And therefore few people realized that the first Amerin serly wound the vasn of Iraq durg the send Gulf war was a gay Alva signed up, before "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, " he had to lie on his paperwork. Lbians have suffered unr the same prohibns and prejudic and share many of the same experienc, as well as some that are distct, but this article ncentrat on the experience of gay men.

FILM REVIEW; GAY WORLD WAR II: ABE BY THE MILARY

And when, 2006, the battl over "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" the ary and gay marriage the wir muny were simmerg, Alva’s boyiend at the time poted out to him that he did have some notoriety that might be of e. (The meetgs have been arranged through a private onle work lled OutServe, set up only last year, which allows gay and lbian servicepeople a safe and secure way of fdg and munitg wh one another.

GAY MEN UNR THE NAZI REGIME

To be the ary and still try to live any kd of life as a gay man, ’s not Force #4 (senr airman, four years): "Right now our relatnships don’t exist.

GAY WAR VETERAN SPEAKS OUT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS UKRAE'S ARY

In the shadow of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, " whenever gay servicemen did face any kd of homophobic harassment, they were powerls to draw attentn to whout potentially triggerg the end of their ary reer. The le self beme the very tool of their opprsn: "The ’Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, " says Joseph Rocha (navy, 2004–7), "punish homosexuals who ply, and protects bigots.

Of a number of latg events—Rocha was also force-fed dog food and locked to a sh-filled dog kennel—the most abive and explicly homophobic was when he was orred by his manr to act a dog-trag scenar, repeated over and over so that every dog the un uld be n through .