Leonard Matlovich is buried the Congrsnal Cemeteray beneath a grave stone that reads, “A Gay Vietnam Veteran.”
Contents:
- LEONARD MATLOVICH TOMBSTONE: GAY VIETNAM VETERAN'S GRAVE RURFAC IN REDD ONLE DISCSN (PHOTO)
- FOR GAY UPL HOPG FOR A ARY BURIAL, THE FIGHT FOR LOVE DON’T END WH ATH
- THE HISTORY BEHD FAMO ‘GAY VIETNAM VETERAN’ HEADSTONE
- MEET THE GAY VIETNAM VETERAN WHOSE GRAVE IS A BEAN FOR HOPE
- LEONARD MATLOVICH: THE GAY MILARY HERO YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF
- THE HISTORY BEHD FAMO ‘GAY VIETNAM VETERAN’ HEADSTONE
LEONARD MATLOVICH TOMBSTONE: GAY VIETNAM VETERAN'S GRAVE RURFAC IN REDD ONLE DISCSN (PHOTO)
The right to a ary burial for gay spo was guaranteed natnwi wh the legalizatn of same-sex marriage 2015, but only a handful of known same-sex ary upl are buried across US natnal cemeteri. For most, the right to such an honor has been hard won. * gay vietnam veteran grave *
On April 30th, the 37th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, the photo of gay Vietnam veteran Technil Sergeant Leonard Matlovich's powerful tombstone rurfaced onle -- sparkg discsn of s famo phrase:"When I was the ary they gave me a medal for killg two men and a discharge for lovg one. "Matlovich's stggle triggered a natnal movement and discsn of gay rights -- pecially the ary.
Matlovich died on June 22, 1988 om plitns of HIV/AIDS after years of speakg out for the the sectn of the webse dited to the story behd tombstone, not the scriptn of his last name at the foot of the memorial is the only tie to Matlovich himself, as he wanted the stone to be a monument for all gay veterans. Campbell was the first gay veteran to secure burial rights for her spoe, and the pair were the first same-sex ary uple to be buried together at a US natnal cemetery. The right to a ary burial for gay spo was guaranteed natnwi wh the legalizatn of same-sex marriage 2015, but only a handful of known same-sex ary upl are buried across the 172 natnal cemeteri the US – grounds rerved chiefly for ary members and selected fay.
However, gay veterans have always fought for their right to be clud and celebrated such spac. Their tombston shout to the silence: “Gay is good, ” reads a plaque below the grave of Frank Kameny, an inic activist, civil servant and World War II veteran. A glossy namels marble headstone marks the grave of Leonard Matlovich, one of the first LGBTQ veterans to prott the ary’s ban on homosexualy, as one belongg to “A Gay Vietnam Veteran.
FOR GAY UPL HOPG FOR A ARY BURIAL, THE FIGHT FOR LOVE DON’T END WH ATH
The Gay Milary Hero You've Probably Never Heard Of * gay vietnam veteran grave *
reads, “A Gay Vietnam Veteran. his g out as a gay man.
sexual preferenc are homosexual as opposed to heterosexual, ” Matlovich. homosexualy aga’ orr to rema the ary, ” acrdg to Air. the gay rights movement, even landg him — uniform — on the ver of a.
September 1975 TIME magaze issue alongsi a headle that read “I Am a Homosexual. gay rights activist the fight for the equal treatment of the LGBTQIA+. '@nowthis Meet the #gay.
THE HISTORY BEHD FAMO ‘GAY VIETNAM VETERAN’ HEADSTONE
♬ origal sound - nowthisAfter a life of gay rights activism, Matlovich died 1988 om plitns of HIV/AIDS. Before his passg, he signed his tombstone, a namels marker readg only “a gay Vietnam veteran” that he reportedly wanted “to serve as a memorial to all gay veterans.
” Alongsi the phrase two pk triangl, the symbols ed by ncentratn mps to intify gay men, he chose to clu a chillg revelatn for his life. The headstone belongg to a gay Vietnam veteran still today remas a poignant remr of the homophobia faced by the LGBTQ+ muny on a daily basis.
MEET THE GAY VIETNAM VETERAN WHOSE GRAVE IS A BEAN FOR HOPE
He arranged for his own burial at Congrsnal Cemetery, and signed his tombstone which reads: “A Gay Vietnam Veteran. Had Leonard Matlovich (1943–1988) never publicly admted his homosexualy to Air Force officials 1975 he might have retired om the ary and slipped quietly to oblivn. Instead, on March 6, 1975 wh 12 years of exemplary ary service, he wrote and livered a letter to his mandg officer which he openly admted his homosexualy.
For thoands of gay and lbian Amerins, particularly durg the 25 years followg World War II, exprsg their homosexualy publicly remaed unthkable.
LEONARD MATLOVICH: THE GAY MILARY HERO YOU'VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF
That changed one warm June night 1969 when a route police raid agast the Stonewall Inn, a private gay club New York’s Greenwich Village, met wh unexpected opposn. The men who had always been easily targeted for their homosexualy cid to fight back.
The movement for gay rights was still young 1975 when Leonard Matlovich revealed his sexual orientatn a letter to his mandg officer. Emblazoned across his cht bold black letters, acrdg to The New York Tim, on September 19, 1975, was the ptn, “I Am a Homosexual. Tryg to supprs the sexual clatns he nsired aberrant behavr, Matlovich joed fellow soldiers who mocked homosexuals.
That was when he began equentg gay bars.
THE HISTORY BEHD FAMO ‘GAY VIETNAM VETERAN’ HEADSTONE
“I met a bank print, a gas statn attendant—they were all homosexual, ” Matlovich relled for Oelsner. Matlovich gradually me to believe that the discrimatn faced by Ain Amerins was siar to the persecutn that homosexuals endured. ” Matlovich ntend that the ary was full of homosexuals bee he ran to them when he spent evengs one dance club Norfolk.
The issue of homosexualy the ary was brought to the foreont bee of Matlovich’s nfsn. ” Six months after he openly admted his homosexualy, Matlovich was out of the Air Force, nsired unf for ary service by a three-member panel. His admissn had tapulted him to the role of a natnal hero for the e of gay and lbian rights.