• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • New York police abused demonstrators at George Floyd protest, report finds
  • Trevor Noah pokes fun at Prince Harry’s frostbitten penis
  • Key winners at music industry’s 2023 Grammy Awards

Castro Residence of Gay Vietnam Vet Leonard Matlovich Recognized

Andy Towle November 19, 2008

Leonard1

Back in June I reported that the residence of 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”, was to be recognized with a plaque thanks to the work of friends, including frequent Towleroad commenter Michael Bedwell.

MatlovichSaid Bedwell to the BAR at the time, “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.”

Matlovich’s headstone, in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC, is well-known. It reads: “When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”

The plaque had a dedication ceremony last Saturday at San Francisco’s LGBT Community Center. It is now up at the corner of 18th and Castro. Matlovich died of AIDS in 1988. He was 44.

In related news, over 100 of the U.S. military’s retired generals and admirals called for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in a document released Monday.

Leonard2

Topics: Health, Military, News, Society More Posts About: AIDS, Don't Ask Don't tell, Leonard Matlovich, Magazines, Military, News, san francisco

Related Posts
  • San Francisco votes to let police use ‘killer robots’
  • Studio 54 owner Mark Fleischman dies by assisted suicide at Dignitas, says his business partner
  • Govt’s Halting Response In Ramping Monkeypox Tests, Vaccines May Have Missed Chance to Contain Outbreak Over Last 30 Days.
  • Trevor Noah pokes fun at Prince Harry’s frostbitten penis

    Trevor Noah pokes fun at Prince Harry’s frostbitten penis

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Trevor Noah poked fun at Prince Harry’s frostbitten penis during the Grammy Awards on Sunday (05.02.23). The 38-year-old star couldn’t resist mocking the prince’s intimate revelation about his icy agony – …Read More »
  • Key winners at music industry’s 2023 Grammy Awards

    Key winners at music industry’s 2023 Grammy Awards

    Published by Reuters By Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The biggest names in the music industry gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday for the 65th annual Grammy Awards ceremony. Here is a list of winners …Read More »
  • Sam Smith and Kim Petras scoop Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy

    Sam Smith and Kim Petras scoop Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Kim Petras paid tribute to the “transgender legends” who “kicked the doors open” for her as she picked up her first Grammy Award on Sunday (05.02.23). The 30-year-old singer and her …Read More »
  • Beyonce makes history at Grammys with 32 wins

    Beyonce makes history at Grammys with 32 wins

    Published by BANG Showbiz English Beyonce made history when she set a new record for most Grammy Award wins on Sunday (05.02.23). The 41-year-old singer had started the day three victories behind composer Sir Georg Solti …Read More »
Previous Post: « Huckabee: Gays Haven’t Crossed ‘Civil Rights’ Violence Threshold
Next Post: Ted Stevens Loses, Cheney and Gonzales Indicted in Texas »

Primary Sidebar

Adjacent News

  • Ted Cruz claims Buttigieg running against Biden because his ‘cadence’ is ‘mimicking Barack Obama’

    Ted Cruz claims Buttigieg running against Biden because his ‘cadence’ is ‘mimicking Barack Obama’

  • ‘Invasion of privacy’: Some Florida athletes leery of being made to reveal menstrual cycles

    ‘Invasion of privacy’: Some Florida athletes leery of being made to reveal menstrual cycles

  • US charges ‘neo-Nazi’ leader in plot to attack power stations

    US charges ‘neo-Nazi’ leader in plot to attack power stations

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

    Dennis Rodman On If He’d Ever Get Back With Ex-Girlfriends: “I Tried Madonna, I Tried Carmen Electra…”

  • James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

    James Gunn Seemingly Confirms The DCU Will Finally Have Gay Superheroes

  • Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

    Vanilla Ice Admits He Rejected Madonna’s Proposal Before They Split: ‘I Thought The Guy Was Supposed To Do That’

RSS Partner Links

  • Beyonce Was Late To The Grammys And Still Made History As The Artist With The Most Awards Ever
  • Stars Banned From 'Saturday Night Live'
  • OMG have you heard: Tom Brady touches himself
  • Alan Cumming celebrates his birthday!
  • Chris Brown Lost Last Night’s “Best R&B Album” Grammy to Robert Glasper, And Unsurprisingly, Acted Like A Sore Loser
  • Harry Styles Won Album Of The Year At The 2023 Grammys And Some People Are Shocked
  • Tom Brady Strips Down to His Underwear to Keep a Promise He Made on Social Media

Most Recent

  • New York police abused demonstrators at George Floyd protest, report finds

    New York police abused demonstrators at George Floyd protest, report finds

  • Trevor Noah pokes fun at Prince Harry’s frostbitten penis

    Trevor Noah pokes fun at Prince Harry’s frostbitten penis

  • Key winners at music industry’s 2023 Grammy Awards

    Key winners at music industry’s 2023 Grammy Awards

  • Sam Smith and Kim Petras scoop Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy

    Sam Smith and Kim Petras scoop Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy

  • Beyonce makes history at Grammys with 32 wins

    Beyonce makes history at Grammys with 32 wins

  • Hong Kong court makes landmark ruling protecting transgender rights

    Hong Kong court makes landmark ruling protecting transgender rights

  • Beyonce breaks all-time Grammy wins record, Harry Styles claims album prize

    Beyonce breaks all-time Grammy wins record, Harry Styles claims album prize

  • ‘It’s comical’: George Santos denies sexually assaulting prospective staffer

    ‘It’s comical’: George Santos denies sexually assaulting prospective staffer

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×