Ask and Tell: Gay and Lesbian Veterans Speak Out

3. Vietnam

3 VIETNAM During the Vietnam War era, everybody wanted to be gay—at least, every man who was eligible for the draft but who did not want to serve in Southeast Asia. Since the Department of Defense continued to view homosexuality as a ‘‘moral defect,’’ homosexuals were one of the few groups of ablebodied young men (aside from students, veterans, and reservists) who were theoretically ineligible for the draft during the war. Ironically, one of the few groups of young men who did not want the military to think that they were homosexuals were gay military personnel proudly serving their country. American involvement in Vietnam began during the French Indochina War, when the u.s. government supported the French in a bid to regain control over their Southeast Asian colonies following World War II. In Vietnam, the French were fighting a force led by the communist leader, Ho Chi Minh, and Cold War foreign policy all but mandated that u.s. o≈cials oppose communist expansion in the region. After the French left in defeat in 1954, the u.s. stepped in with aid and military advisers for anticommunist Vietnamese forces. Large-scale u.s. military involvement did not begin until 1964, in the wake of an incident involvingu.s.andNorthVietnameseshipsintheGulfofTonkin.Between1964 and the end of the draft in 1973, the Selective Service brought 1,875,304 men into the military.∞ Throughout the late 1960s, antiwar groups and underground newspapers printed advice and guides on how to avoid the draft. Many o√ered tips on how to become a ‘‘hoaxosexual.’’ When Pete Zavala was called up for the draft in Los Angeles, he decided that he had seen too many young men from his Mexican American neighborhood taken to Vietnam for a war that he did not support. So even though he was straight, he claimed to be gay. The sergeant 60 vietnam said, ‘‘Do you like boys?’’ and Zavala replied, ‘‘Well, sir, I used to like girls, but now I like boys.’’ ‘‘Good,’’ the sergeant fired back, ‘‘because there’ll be plenty where you’re going.’’≤ Draft boards and military psychiatrists heard claims of homosexuality quite a bit, so no one batted an eye during the psychiatric examination when Perry Watkins admitted that he was a gay man who had both oral and anal sex with other men. In fact, Watkins, who had studied ballet and tried out for the cheerleading squad, had been openly gay since junior high school. Here was a young man at peace with himself, despite the intense social pressure against such a proud gay identity in the mid-1960s. Inducted into the u.s. Army in 1968, Perry Watkins never tried to hide his sexual orientation. He even became something of a minor celebrity for his drag shows as ‘‘Simone’’ in enlisted men’s clubs. After serving on various posts in the United States, Germany, and South Korea, Watkins was finally discharged from the army in 1981 based on his written acknowledgments of his sexuality in 1968 and in 1971, when he reenlisted. Ultimately, in 1990 the u.s. Appeals Court overturned Perry’s discharge, since the Vietnam era veteran had never lied to the army about his being gay.≥ Most of the gay men and lesbians who served during the Vietnam War era, including the interviewees in this chapter, were not as open as Perry Watkins. At the time, few would have identified as gay. They were simply Americans called to serve their country during a time of war. If they had read pamphlets and flyers printed by gay rights organizations at the time, they would have found very measured advice about sexuality and service. ‘‘If you wish to serve,’’ the San Francisco–based Society for Individual Rights warned, ‘‘you may do so knowing that countless homosexuals have, but you must at the same time weigh the real danger that you may receive a less-than-honorable discharge that will create serious di≈culties for you in obtaining employment.’’∂ Despite the dangers, thousands of gay and lesbian service personnel did serve during the war. Combat veterans like Bob Yeargan did not have time to worry about such policies when they were in the field. They and their buddies were much more worried about survival. Bob’s two tours of duty, first as a platoon leader and later as a company commander, reveal that combat leadership is not the exclusive purview of heterosexual o≈cers. Like several other interviewees in the book, Bob...