Gay navy

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that a Navy supply ship that honored a veteran who was the first openly gay politician in California will be renamed for a sailor who was awarded the. The United States Navy is officially renaming a naval vessel named after gay rights activist Harvey Milk, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Friday.

Hegseth, who had originally touted the. The USNS Harvey Milk is being renamed the USNS Oscar V. Peterson in honor of a Navy chief watertender who died in World War II. WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the Navy to rename the ship that honors Harvey Milk, a former sailor who later became the first openly gay man elected to office in.

For centuries, LGBTQIA+ sailors served their country in silence. From the early days of Continental Navy, through USS Constitution ’s active sailing years, and into the 20th century, homosexuality was a crime subject to punishment by court martial, usually resulting in discharge. Beginning in World War II, the military instituted an outright ban on homosexual service members.

1 It wasn’t. You are going off to the Army. I went to the Naval recruiting station, and I told them my story and asked if I could get into the Navy, even though I was drafted. When you go into the military, there is a form that you fill out. The very bottom question has to do with homosexuality. On my application it said, are you a practicing homosexual? I know how to do it. I liked the Navy very much.

There were lots of tasks that you had to perform, swinging on the ropes and the swimming and crawling and everything. I felt I could do all that stuff.

navy gay history

Even firefighting I enjoyed. Jumping off a three-story building with all your clothes on into the water. That was challenging and fun. I remember coming home on leave. My friend Ronny, who was gay, I worked with him in the stockyards. I was now 21 when I came home actually. There were probably five or six bars, two blocks apart.

You could go to one, and then to another. Suddenly, all the lights went on. The back door was wide open. There was a ramp and a paddy wagon. Everybody was ushered right into the paddy wagon. Were we dumb! We were arrested and thrown in jail. I remember, Ronny was in the next cell. I was thrown into a cell with a guy in the Air Force. I was in the Navy and he was home on leave.

Very tall, handsome guy. Only one metal bunk, two people had to sleep on the metal bunk together. We did. Of course we partied all night. What are you doing? And the bailiff or jailkeeper, whatever, he had his wooden club. In the morning, we went before the judge.