I
Sisters and Brothers;
' Or
P
I've been working in the GI Movement for one and one half years now.    During
that time I've heard endless hints about and gossip about gay Gl's.    One thing
that seems to be completely nissing is any understanding about lesbians and.
homosexuals in the Military.    This  creates all kinds of problems for gays
>doing GI work in the Movement and leaves an incredible gap in our knowledge
of the ways the Military Establishment and the Brass  "keep people in line"
and out of the Movement.
The little bit that I know is that thousands of men and women "come out"
(become lesbians or homosexuals), fall in love with and sleep with people
of the same sex, and develop close personal ties with people of the same sex
while they're in the service.    Most people come out overseas because they're
away from home, because of the different cultures overseas, and for a lot of
other reasons.    Many of them re-up to stay overseas because they have lovers
overseas they can't legally bring back to the U.S.  and because of the treatment
gays get in the States.
Homosexuals and lesbians in the Military vho support themselves are hurt worse
than people who have some money if they are "discovered".    The Brass uses
them as examples to the other Gl's.    Their mistakes  are "because they're
queer", their shitty details are "because they're queer";    any friends that
they make or still have are "because they're queer"; and any strange ways
they act like nervousness  and fear are"because they're queer".    If they get
discharged they rarely get the "honorable" the Brass  can give them.    They
usually get a discharge which will keep them from getting good jobs  for the
rest of their lives.
There are more homosexuals in the working class than in any other class in
«America.    Love for your sisters and brothers is stronger in working people
than in any other people.    There are hundreds of thousands of homosexuals and
lesbians in the military but the Brass uses them to give a bad ner.e to all
Gl's.    Since Gays are hassled whenever they are open, they have to go to the
bars and bathe which are run by the underworld friends of the Brass.    No one
likes homosexuals because they're associated with crime and secretive behavior.
No one likes homosexuals because they see them as  frustrated, highly emotional
people.    That's the same mistake that people malte and that rich and powerful
people keep encouraging people to make ; that ths people are  at  fault for the
way thay act and not the system they are  forced to live under.
'jfrie Brass  and the Military Establishment have used homosexuals to fight their
wars; to give Gl's  a bad name overseas and at home by feeding on their
exploitation and oppression; to keep people divided and further from finding
truly revolutionary ways to solve their problems ; and to put money in their
own pockets.
A friend of mine once told me a story about Ft.  Lewis.    The first week he
was in Basic one of the guys he knew said that a guy in one of the other units
had been hung the night before in his barracks.    Their DI had found out he
was a queer, so he'd said to the guys it would be a good thing if they "hung
all them queers".    Another friend of mine had a good friend when he was in
Leavenworth who got raped a couple of times.    He'd never said anything about
it to anyone because nobody would really have understood what that did to
him and to the rest of the guys in Leavenworth.    I still don't understand why
people  feel they can be so liberal about their feelings  about lesbianism and
homosexuality when there are so many times when the man uses those feelings
against us.
I would like to have storiesby or" ab ötrtr^gsys afcrr-'the - «i Ii*. asyc^—gay civilians
who know gays in the service, straight people in the service, straight civilians, gay groups, groups of gays in the military, gay dependents, gay civilian
employees of the military, non-white gays, working-class gays, foreign gays,
gay brass, gay veterans, civilians in other countries who know about or of
gays in the military, gay bars near bases in the states and overseas, anti-
gay feelings of people in the military especially the brass, any old stories,
history, publicity, policies, stockades, brigs,-use your own Judgement.
I really want to hear from overseas because of a letter and tape I received
from Japan saying that there are a lot of Gl's who come out in Japan and who
re-up to stay in Vietnam so that they can be near Japan. I've also*heard stories
about gay groups (the pink panthers?) in Germany.    Another story which keeps
popping up is the one about DI's telling recruits that all gooks are queer.
If you've heard any tall tales send them too!  If you have any suggestions,
questions, or criticisms about this letter please wrije! I'd appreciate it.
Dan Pecan, Box 336, Louisville,Ky.U0201
Love and Strength,  Q<x^ f^^