“Honorable Silence” – DADT Anthology from MLR Press

My short, “The Loss of Innocence Store,” will be included in this upcoming DADT anthology from MLR Press. Laura Baumbach, owner/publisher of MLR Press (besides being a prolific, award-winning author) provides, via “Fiction With Friction,” an opportunity to donate to an NYU student who is undertaking a film project centered on DADT.

My short, “The Loss of Innocence Store,” predates DADT. It is important, however, to remember that the institutionalized ban on openly gays/lesbians serving in the American military, did not begin with DADT. In fact, while DADT acknowledges the reality that gays/lesbians do serve in the military, prior to DADT the exclusionary policy was absolute…no room for even the opportunity to not tell, or, from the other side, to not ask.

“The Loss of Innocence Store,” will take the reader to a Vietnam era environment, beginning in Fort Polk, Louisiana with boot camp, then on to Norfolk, Virginia where the protagonist develops a sense of himself amongst all the detritus of his past, with the ultimate conclusion that being a Soldier is a singular honor, regardless of his sexuality.