06/13/2008
SF Castro Residence of Gay Vet Leonard Matlovich to be Recognized
Leonard Matlovich, a Vietnam war vet and gay rights pioneer who took up residence in San Francisco's Castro District in the late 70's and appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in September 1975 under the headline "I am a Homosexual", will get a plaque in the Castro on his former residence (at 18th and Castro) thanks to friends, who include frequent Towleroad commenter Michael Bedwell.
Bedwell told the Bay Area Reporter: "I wanted to memorialize him both to pay respect to him and to make newer generations aware of him. Mainstream society has countless examples of these which mark the people who came before, that inspire people, and reinforce people's identity themselves."
The TIME story concerned Matlovich's fight against the ban on gays in the military. According to the BAR: "He had told his commanding officers he was a homosexual but wanted to remain in the service. The Air Force kicked him out, and Matlovich sued the secretary of the Air Force. Matlovich settled out of court and received $160,000. The lawsuit did prompt the military after 1981 to switch from giving gay service members dishonorable discharges to honorable discharges."
Many of you may have seen Matlovich's striking headstone, which sits in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC and reads, "When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."
Said SF Supervisor and supporter Bevan Dufty: "I thought he was impressive. I was like 21 years old and this guy was amazing. He was out and proudly gay. Most gay men were closeted. It was kind of amazing somebody who had this military experience and all these military decorations for courage and service and bravery and he was an openly gay man."
Matlovich was an activist, a member of the Log Cabin Republicans, and died of AIDS in 1988. HE was 44. Bedwell, who spearheaded the campaign for the plaque, hopes to unveil it in the fall.
Friends plan plaque for gay Castro vet [bay area reporter]
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 12:15 PM EST by Andy in Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Harvey Milk, Leonard Matlovich, Military, News, San Francisco | Permalink
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All right Bedwell, good job. I didn't know Leonard was a log cabinite.
Posted by: davefromtampa | Jun 13, 2008 12:21:38 PM
I was a youth when he was famous, but he made an indelible impression on me. I remember one of his quotes that really moved me. It went something like this, "I was 33 before I ever hugged someone I loved." I sure didn't want that happening to me.
Posted by: Mike in the Tundra | Jun 13, 2008 12:39:46 PM
Big time hats off to Michael Bedwell! Well done, sir!
Posted by: AG | Jun 13, 2008 12:48:30 PM
ROCK ON MICHAEL my friend!
This is a much deserved tribute for another gay American hero.
DAVEFROMTAMPA, that was back when the Repubilcan party wasn't a thee issue party (taxes, anti-abortion, anti-gay rights) and when they, believe it or not, actually stood for just about everything they stand against now (fiscal responsibility, privacy, separation of church and state, state's rights etc). It was a very different world.
Sadly, we're still fighting some of the same battles that Matlovich was fighting thirty years ago.
Posted by: Zeke | Jun 13, 2008 12:52:24 PM
Didn't realize Matlovitch was a Log Cabin boy. It's a shame he's about the only one of those folks to ever stick his neck out. Go back a few decades and the GOP was filled with hatred. The modern GOP was built on prejudice (Blacks, women, etc.) and could have cared less about privacy. Zeke is living in some libertarian fantasy world.
Posted by: Rich | Jun 13, 2008 1:04:08 PM
Impressive headstone. You had me until I read that he was a Log Cabin Republican. If he were alive today, would he cast a vote for McCain?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5t2dJnN2eg
Posted by: John in Manhattan | Jun 13, 2008 1:10:27 PM
Yeah Zeke, what in the world are you talking about? In the 1980s the country was led by Reagan. Enough said.
Posted by: Paul R | Jun 13, 2008 1:23:34 PM
Thank you, Andy, for kindly noting this, and others for their kind remarks. As indicated, Leonard would still have been a hero to me even had I never met him and had the honor of becoming his friend.
As for the "Log Cabin" characterization, technically it's true but he was always evolving [Harvey Milk had once been a Goldwater supporter, too], and I'm confidant that had he lived that even his sincere belief that he could accomplish more from the "inside" than out would not have kept him from reluctantly accepting that the "modern" Republican party was beyond repair and I’m certain he would be among those referring to Sen. John McSHAME. Leonard had also once been a devout Catholic, but saw the error of that way and helped lead a demonstration against Pope John Paul upon his visit to San Francisco. And he repeatedly, publicly denounced Reagan for his AIDS passive genocide including on “Nightline,” "The Larry King Show" ["I owe my liberation from whatever stereotypes I’ve managed to escape to a remarkable man named Sergeant Leonard Matlovich." - King], “Good Morning America,” and at a demonstration in front of the White House the year before he lost his final battle:
“D.C. police wearing long yellow rubber gloves arrested 64 demonstrators after the group blocked traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House to protest the Reagan administration's AIDS policies. Among those arrested was Leonard Matlovich, a former Air Force sergeant who was expelled from the service in 1975 after admitting his homosexuality. Matlovich, who recently learned he has AIDS, wore his old Air Force jacket decorated with a Purple Heart and Bronze Star and clutched a small American flag as police handcuffed him.” - Washington Post, June 2, 1987
Just as Leonard tried to build a memorial to Harvey Milk in Congressional Cemetery before his time ran out, we must encourage the creation of places where we can both honor and be inspired by those who've gone before, not because they were perfect but because they put their best selves on the line for people whom they would never meet.
What Leonard said as the rain poured around him at a gay rights demonstration mere weeks before he died is just as true 20 years later—this month particularly:
“I want you to look at our flag, our rainbow flag, and I want you to look at it with pride in your hearts. Because we, too, have a dream. And what is our dream? Ours is more than an American dream, it’s a universal dream, because in South Africa we’re black and white, in Northern Ireland we’re Protestant and Catholic, and in Israel we’re Jew and Muslim. And our mission is to reach out and teach people to love and not to hate.”
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Jun 13, 2008 1:42:18 PM
"The modern GOP was built on prejudice"
So was the "modern" democratic party. If I really had to choose a party that closest fits my ideology - it would be the republicans. But there are so many repulsive things about the both parties that I could never be a member. Luckily I live in a state where independents run and actually get elected.
Posted by: yoshi | Jun 13, 2008 2:00:04 PM
Believe it or not, the Log Cabin membership does not bother me. That was a different time. The man was a military and most of those in the armed forces start off as republicons. What he did was and is heroic. At a time when most republicons, even now, are in the closet, this man's actions are truly remarkable.
Posted by: FunMe | Jun 13, 2008 3:03:01 PM
Good job, MICHAEL BEDWELL!
Posted by: peterparker | Jun 13, 2008 3:06:04 PM
BRAVO!!! ... and thank you Michael Bedwell for reminding us of our great LGBT leaders, who paved the way for us all to be who we are; it is the legacy of people as Leonard, who inpsire us everyday to fight onward!
Posted by: Chip Arndt | Jun 13, 2008 4:16:15 PM
RICH and PAUL R, I'm about as deep blue a Democrat as you can get. I'm also old enough to REMEMBER the days that you talk about, are you?
Forgive me if I, a native of MISSISSIPPI, where it was DEMOCRATS (Dixiecrats) who were leading the racist, segregation and anti-civil rights movement, have a problem with your slightly selective memory of political history. There was a whole other branch of the Democratic Party that didn't resemble JFK or LBJ. It does no one any good to ignore or deny that fact.
The likely reason why Matlovich was a LCR at THAT time in history was PRECISELY because of Reagan, the Reagan who was running for Governor of CA, not President Reagan years later. LCR was formed in response to Reagan taking a stand against a very homophobic voter initiative in the 70's that would have made it illegal for gay people to be teachers in the state. Although I believe the LCRs give him way more credit than is deserved, since his position against the initiative was based on the fact that he wanted to protect "innocent" straight people from having their careers ruined by being "accused" of being gay by bitter students, still many gay people saw him as a hero at the time.
Again I say, this was a different time. I agree with MICHAEL BEDWELL that it's likely that if he were alive today he would have long since given up on the Republican party; I know I did. He was already moving quickly in that direction when he ran out of time.
Posted by: Zeke | Jun 13, 2008 6:30:57 PM
I was honored to be friends with Matt, having met him at the same conference at Indiana University when Michael Bedwell met him. Needless to say, Matt was another instance in the LGBT community of "gone too soon" --- he didn't even make it to 45. I am glad that Matt will be honored with the plaque, and that visitors to the Castro will read about his legacy. Congratulations to Michael Bedwell for accomplishing this memorial ... and Thank You, Michael, for being a life-long friend, both to me and to Matt while he was with us.
Posted by: Allen J. Lopp | Jun 13, 2008 9:11:59 PM
Thank you, Mr. Bedwell, for doing this. I'm a former Air Force officer and I now work on HIV/AIDS issues. I have known about him for a long time and think about him a lot.
I assume that you are aware that Congressional Cemetary allows people to walk dogs there. (Sadly, you have to pay to do it these days - very annoying). Sasha (the dog) and I have walked past Leonard Matlovich's grave many times. It's astonishingly ironic that about 20 graves away from him is J. Edgar Hoover. Clyde Tolson is about halfway between them. There are other gay veterans buried nearby. Peter Boyle, Walt Whitman's lover, is also buried in Congressional although I always have trouble finding it.
So Sasha and I always stop at Sgt. Matlovich's grave and sit on the little bench under the shade tree that is there and thank him. (Well, I thank him, Sasha worries about squirrels). The truth is, if not for him and people like him I could not be who I am today. I was 10 in 1975 and 23 when he died. It took me 10 more years to come out. So thank you very much, Sgt. Matlovich, you helped me and didn't even know it. Peace.
Posted by: Bill McColl | Jun 14, 2008 12:01:48 AM
Thank you, Bill, for that touching acknowledgement. The "camp" of Hoover/Tolson and the romance of Peter Doyle were two of the reasons why Leonard chose Congressional Cemetery. And, yes, as you've noticed, remarkably more and more individual gays and gay couples are choosing to be buried there. One shared stone reads:
Larry Martin Worrell
June 23, 1954 – December 17, 1989
TWO MOST EXCELLENT ADVENTURES
James Richard Duell
February 11, 1947 – July 15, 1992
Forgive the sentimentality but it makes my heart smile to think that Leonard isn't alone there anymore. And, I urge you and Sasha to come to the next Veteran's Day observance at Leonard's graveside—a simple memorial service for all gay and lesbian vets that has been going on since 2001.
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Jun 14, 2008 12:42:25 AM
I'm so glad Leonard Matlovitch is being remembered with a memorial. I recall that TIME cover as though it were yesterday - in fact I'm sure I still have it somewhere - and I was privileged to hear him speak in Philadelphia. I mourned his passing as one of the brave early leaders who were taken by the disease our sitting president at the time (Regan) wouldn't even name. It is truly fitting that he should be remembered in this and many other ways as a leader -- a pathfinder -- and an inspiration to so many. Our world was made better by the presence of Leonard Matlovitch.
Posted by: Alex Parrish | Nov 14, 2008 6:04:49 PM