My Dad served in Army ROTC and the Army during peacetime. He got his infantry training at Fort Benning, Georgia before there was a School of the Americas there and was discharged in November of 1957. I believe part of his decision to volunteer was related to getting help with college expenses (he also had an athletic scholarship.) Dad was an athlete in the army, too, and I believe one of these pictures depicts an occasion on which he tied with another enlisted man for a race during a meet at Fort Campbell KY (hes in the 3rd place position). An officer tore a five dollar bill in half to split the prize money between them. I know he kept that half bill for a long time, but I havent run across it yet. Many in my extended family have served, including several who attended military academies. When offered in the post-Vietnam era, I declined to use military support for college even though money was one of the reasons I dropped out (Reagan had cracked down on student loan collections and my loans became due before I had finished my non-traditional work/learn schedule.) My choice had much to do with my having grown up during that contentious time and having strong anti-war feelings, but the option also seemed completely untenable because I knew I was gay and had recently come out. I knew we werent wanted in the military from the cover article in Time magazine about the discharge of Lieutenant Matlovich. My Dad once, in rare, completely completely open mood, responded to a modern news story about gays in the military by remarking that theres nothing new about that - and that he knew hed served with a gay lieutenant at Fort Benning. And so it goes. Life. Choices. Progress. Happy Veterans Day!
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:41:39 +0000
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