Patrick of the Gryphmon blog alerted us to another us to the latest wrinkle in the saga of San Francisco and the USS Iowa. Now, some want to “turn part of the vessel into a museum honoring the contributions of gays, lesbians, ethnic minorities and women to the military” in order to “help sway the Board of Supervisors’ decision.” As we reported in July, the Board voted against the permanent berthing of the USS Iowa in their city.
While it’s important that we recognize the courage and sacrifice the countless gay and lesbian service members over the years, this is not the place to do it. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors should reverse their July decision and agree to berth this battleship in their fair city to honor all those who served to defend our freedom–and the particular history of this ship. Most of the men and women who served aboard the ship were straight.
We must honor them as well when we tell the story great ship. It brought President Roosevelt home from the Tehran Conference and “suffered one of the nation’s most deadly military accidents in 1989 when 47 sailors were killed in an explosion during a training exercise.”
As we remember that history, let’s find another means to honor gay and lesbian veterans. And let us do so in a way that shows their sexuality was incidental to their service to our great nation.
-Dan (AKA GayPatriotWest): GayPatriotWest@aol.com
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