“Honorable Silence” released by MLR Press
MLR Press has announced the release of “Honorable Silence,” storytelling from four authors–Maura Anderson, William Maltese, George Seaton, and Lex Valentine (cover art by Michael Breyette)–relating to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and, in my case, a snippet of one gay man’s service in the U. S. Army two decades prior to the implementation of DADT.
My story, “The Loss of Innocence Store,” includes my Author’s Note: “Although DADT was instituted in 1993, the unconscionable ban on gays/lesbians in the American military predates DADT and, in fact, reaches back to the American Revolution. This story, “The Loss of Innocence Store,” provides a small window into a gay man’s experience in the U.S. Army, circa 1972-1974. Discrimination against gays/lesbians serving in the American military did not begin with DADT. Hopefully it will end with the dissolution of this onerous, absurd policy.”
Unfortunately, with the political route of progressives from the U.S. House of Representatives, and the seeming lack of courage from the White House to aggressively pursue an end to DADT, the wait for the cessation of this despicable policy may not be forthcoming for quite some time.
My thanks to Laura Baumbach, Kris Jacen and the other good folks at MLR for publishing this anthology.
P.S. Probably an unnecessary caveat here: The storytelling is exclusively M/M; no W/W experiences, histories are recounted. I cannot presume to know if the lesbian experience in the American military mirrors that of gay men. Suspect it’s very similar.
