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Thank God.
SAN DIEGO -- Nearly 70 years after expelling Melvin Dwork for being gay, the Navy is changing his discharge from "undesirable" to "honorable" -- marking what is believed to be the first time the Pentagon has taken such a step on behalf of a World War II veteran since the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
The Navy notified the 89-year-old former corpsman last month that he will now be eligible for the benefits he had long been denied, including medical care and a military burial.
Dwork spent decades fighting to remove the blot on his record.
"I resented that word `undesirable,"' said Dwork, who was expelled in 1944, at the height of the war, and is now a successful interior designer in New York. "That word really stuck in my craw. To me it was a terrible insult. It had to be righted. It's really worse than `dishonorable.' I think it was the worst word they could have used."
For Dwork, victory came with a heartbreaking truth: Last year, when the Navy finally released his records, he learned that his name had been given up by his own boyfriend at the time. The decision to amend his discharge papers was made by the Board for Corrections of Naval Records in Washington.
Its funny that so many of you who applaud the end of this now were clapping like seals in a sea world show when DADT was passed...
did it? but I gurantee that many who applauded the DADT became enemies of it and now applaud its demise, EVEN though it was from a democratic POTUS and back then they all thought DADT was the shyt....really? this forum existed back in the early 1990s?
did it? but I gurantee that many who applauded the DADT became enemies of it and now applaud its demise, EVEN though it was from a democratic POTUS and back then they all thought DADT was the shyt....
There are no stereotypes. I remember when DADT was championed as a progressive policy and applauded by nearly all liberals and anyone who was for homosexuals serving in the armed forces. Then, just within the last couple of years it suddenly became a BAD thing. For so many to decry the previous policy, many of them who are now once championed it.Couldn't STAND Clinton, didn't vote for him and thought DADT was bull**** from Day One.
Got any more stereotypes you wanna discuss?
There are no stereotypes. I remember when DADT was championed as a progressive policy and applauded by nearly all liberals and anyone who was for homosexuals serving in the armed forces. Then, just within the last couple of years it suddenly became a BAD thing. For so many to decry the previous policy, many of them who are now once championed it.
People are entitled to growth and development.
Its funny that so many of you who applaud the end of this now were clapping like seals in a sea world show when DADT was passed...
Wait....wait... hang on...
Nope. Still not gay.
Wait....wait... hang on...
Nope. Still not gay.
While this is a good thing I do believe that the spouses of gay military members do not get the same benefits as the spouses of straight military members. It could have changed recently without my knowledge however.
Yeah, that's right. Presumably that's the next hurdle to get over.
Woot! Prolly another 17 years to get that changed! Don't you love how public opinion takes forever to catch up to conventional wisdom?
While this is a good thing I do believe that the spouses of gay military members do not get the same benefits as the spouses of straight military members. It could have changed recently without my knowledge however.
Yeah, that's right. Presumably that's the next hurdle to get over.
It is not necessary to be gay to support the dignity and privacy of your fellow American.
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