Honoring the Life of Leonard Matlovich
On November 14, 2008, a small but powerful group of people met in the Ceremonial Room of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center to honor the life of Sergeant Leonard Matlovich and to dedicate a plaque to be installed in his honor at Castro and 18th Streets in San Francisco. The dedication was organized by Michael Bedwell, a close friend and former roommate of Leonard's. Michael brought together both old friends of Leonard's and those of us who - while we did not share the gift of knowing Leonard personally - were deeply touched by his life.
Paul Boneberg of the GLBT Historical Society spoke of having met Leonard while Paul was still a student, discovering the generosity of spirit that was a hallmark of Leonard Matlovich. Ken McPherson, a longtime friend and fellow activist of Leonard's spoke of his time in the trenches with Leonard, and reminded us all that Leonard Matlovich was a Republican who was willing to speak his truth to power wherever and whenever. On a personal note, I was deeply honored to speak at this dedication on behalf of SLDN (more on this below). Assemblyman (and soon to be State Senator) Mark Leno presented a resolution from the Assembly recognizing Leonard Matlovich's many contributions. Alex Randolph of Mayor Newsom's office presented a similar resolution from the Mayor. Interspersed among the speeches were video clips of Leonard speaking to press about coming out, talking about having HIV and AIDS, and being a consummate community activist. The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus serenaded us with ballads of camaraderie and concluded the day with a bittersweet refrain of goodbye ("I will miss loving you").
In speaking, I noted that Sergeant Matlovich was not the first gay member of the armed forces of the United States, but had been preceded by Baron Von Steuben, the "Father" of the U.S. military and a "notorious" gay man. Three years after Leonard Matlovich was kicked out of the Air Force for being gay, I entered the Air Force as a second lieutenant. A little over a year and a half later, I too was facing discharge for being gay (lesbian). Drawing strength from the courage exhibited by Leonard Matlovich, I told the truth about my sexual orientation when being interviewed for a top-secret clearance. After I was discharged, Ronald Reagan tightened the rules to make it even more difficult for a lesbian or gay man to serve in the military. Then Bill Clinton made a promise to our community and his good intentions led to the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" law.
When Leonard Matlovich was discharged and later when I was kicked out, there were no organizations we could turn to for support. There was no SLDN, no Lambda Legal, no GLAD, no NCLR. I recited the shameful statistics of discharge of gay and lesbian service members, who, following in the footsteps of Leonard Matlovich, had distinguished service records, were highly decorated, doing critical job functions, and were courageous patriots. I drew attention to the plight of those serving in combat who are denied the comfort of letters from their loved ones and whose loved ones don't have the status to find out whether they (the lesbian and gay combat service members) are alive or not. It is a fitting tribute to Sergeant Leonard Matlovich that President Elect Barack Obama has committed to repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military.
The dedication took place on a backdrop of simultaneous nationwide rallies for marriage equality. As we paid tribute to the memory of Leonard Matlovich and his community activism, thousands of young (and not so young) community activists marched from City Hall to the Castro past our windows chanting for equality. The torch lit by Leonard Matlovich is being ably and proudly carried on. With equality in marriage and equality in the military as the two biggest civil rights issues of our time, let's us work together as Leonard Matlovich did with the fellow activists of his time, and let us all be inspired by his courage, his commitment and his love.
11-26-08 By Jo Hoenninger |
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