Gay Marine's life was hidden but not unique

Web Posted: 03/04/2007 12:03 AM CST

Graeme Zielinski
Express-News

Long before he trod on a land mine to become the first combat casualty in Iraq in 2003, San Antonio Marine Eric Alva was shouldering a secret that threatened his military career.

After losing his right leg above the knee, Alva, 36, made speeches, attended banquets, appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," received awards, was hailed as a hero.

But still he kept the secret — until now.

Alva unveiled his sexual orientation Wednesday, then stormed the halls of the Capitol as a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights group.

By telling the truth, he has signed up for a different kind of hitch: reporting to the front lines of the cultural war whirling over gays in the military.

The disclosure came amid a new push in the Democratic-controlled Congress to repeal the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" policy that's been the basis for thousands of "homosexual separations," as the military calls the discharges. Alva acknowledged the repeal movement faces significant opposition. Even his congressman, U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, declined to sign on when Alva stopped by last week.

Alva's coming out — he's received a flood of e-mails and messages of support from other soldiers and Marines — and the latest challenge to the law comes as locals familiar with gay military life in San Antonio describe self-preserving deception, anxiety and varying degrees of comfort within the subculture, even as society as a whole has become more accepting of homosexuality.

For his part, Alva said in an interview Saturday he never told superiors about his homosexuality and confided over the years in just a few trusted friends, including the women he would take to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball. Even then, he said: "I was taking a chance. I was taking severe risks."

When he re-enlisted in 2002, "I know when I was signing that contract that I was still making a sacrifice" because he had to hide being gay. But Alva, a 1989 graduate of Southwest High School medically discharged in 2004, said he knew he wasn't alone, since it was commonplace to see men with military haircuts and dog tags when he'd go to gay clubs during his 13-year career.

The same dynamic holds locally in this military town.

"It's an open secret in San Antonio. It always has been," said Chris Hammet, 46, a San Antonio radiologist who retired from active duty in 1998 as an Air Force major and from the Texas Air National Guard in 2005 as a lieutenant colonel.

Skyler Blue, manager of the Silver Dollar Saloon, a gay bar at 1418 N. Main Ave., put it more bluntly: "I know there are plenty of gays in the military. I've dated them." He said a recent boyfriend was shipped to Iraq and one of his bouncers, who is gay, also recently returned there.

San Antonio's gay establishments have been off limits at various times over the years, but that hasn't stopped a steady stream of military patrons. And the Internet has introduced another way for military men to meet men, and women to meet women.

"I check military (IDs) all the time," said Jon Koehler, a manager at the Saint, a gay bar at 1430 N. Main Ave. "I was told we were on the (off-limits) list, but it doesn't seem like it."

Hammet, a board member of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which represents people facing discharge for being gay, said that while Marines, Army infantrymen and others in combat units encounter a higher degree of scrutiny and even harassment, other sectors of the military are almost entirely tolerant. He even described attending a gay commitment ceremony about 10 years ago attended by a general.

"When you're young and enlisted, the threat of (discharge) wields a lot of power over you," he said. "If you're an officer, you're like: 'Throw me out. I can go outside and get a job that pays three times as much.'"

One of the principal arguments of proponents for homosexuals serving openly is that, in wartime, the services should be doing everything they can to retain personnel. On the flip side, groups such as the Center for Military Readiness argue that excluding homosexuals is necessary to maintain morale and protect unit cohesion.

According to Defense Department figures, the military averaged about 960 discharges each year between 1997 and 2005. According to the SLDN, those discharges included dozens of troops vital to security, including Arabic translators and intelligence officers.

The story of gays serving in the military may stretch into antiquity, all the way to Alexander the Great, but local history of a sort was made in 1973, said Gene Elder, archivist of the HAPPY Foundation, a local gay philanthropy. That's when the management of the San Antonio Country, a pioneering gay bar that was on North St. Mary's Street, fought its off-limits designation.

"Instead of admitting it's a gay bar, we said we're going to make them prove it's a gay bar," said Elder, the bar's manager at the time. A team of lawyers for the bar went to Fort Sam Houston for a hearing. "The MPs would get up there and say they saw a man in woman's clothing. They were obviously uncomfortable."

Unable to prove its case, the military dropped its prohibition, but that victory, like so many others, was short-lived, Elder said, adding: "We have come to the conclusion that anyone (gay) who wants to be in the military is nuts."

Jen P., 22, is a San Antonio resident recently honorably discharged from the Navy who spoke on condition her last name not be used since she still could be compelled to return to service. She said she was told by superiors who knew about her sexuality to keep it to herself. She rejected the arguments she heard for keeping gays out of the services.

"I've never been in combat, but I bet when you are serving in combat situations, you're more worried about not getting killed than what the guy next to you's sexual preference is," said Jen, who now is a student.

She is a member of the local chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights, formerly the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Veterans of America, which will meet Monday. The group's local president, Bob Weeks, an Army Vietnam veteran enthusiastic about Alva's new advocacy, predicted the policy would change for reasons less lofty than justice or fairness because of the military's personnel needs.

"There's not a lot of individuals who like sitting behind a desk pushing paper," he said.

Whatever the outcome, Alva, now a social work student at Our Lady of the Lake University, was loath to address the negative comments he is sure to receive entering his new life.

"The reason I lost my leg was to protect the rights and freedoms of this country, and one of them was freedom of speech," he said.

gzielinski@express-news.net

Keyword: Talkback

Is it time to get rid of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy?

Ellie