Gay combat vet who lost leg in Iraq booed by anti-gay protesters in San Antonio

[Behind the Aegis]

50. Hero

Queer History: 1st US Marine injured in Iraq denounces DADT

The first U.S. Marine injured while fighting in Iraq came out as an openly gay man who denounced the military’s policy of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” that bans gays from serving in uniform.

Marine Staff Sgt Eric Alva, who was sworn into the Marine Corps at 19, stationed in Somalia and Japan and lost his right leg when he stepped on a land mine on March 21, 2003, the first day of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Alva was awarded a Purple Heart from President George W. Bush and received a medical discharge from the military.

But in 2007, Alva decided it was time the world knew that the war hero who was being honored for his service to his country also happens to be a gay man. He called for the end of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy that forces people such as himself out of active duty simply because they choose not to live a lie.

Alva’s decision to come out and speak out fell on the same date that about President Bill Clinton signed “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” into law in the misguided hope that our military leaders would eventually back off of their opposition against gays serving openly. The policy rapidly became the mechanism used to persecute gays and the start of many internal witch hunts.

more: http://www.pridedepot.com/?p=739079