Leonard Matlovich

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Leonard Matlovich (born July 6, 1943 in Savannah , Georgia - † June 22, 1988 ) was an American soldier and LGBT activist.

Matlovich received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star military awards for his service in Vietnam . Matlovich was a well-known man in the media in the United States during the 1970s. After coming out , he fought to continue serving in the US armed forces. This public battle led to articles in The New York Times and a television broadcast on NBC . A photo of Matlovich appeared on the cover of the September 8, 1975 issue of Time magazine , making Matlovich a role model for many homosexual soldiers serving in the US armed forces.

biography

Matlovich was born in Savannah, Georgia. His father was a soldier in the Air Force. Matlovich spent his childhood on various military bases, primarily in the southern United States. Matlovich and his sister were raised Roman Catholic. According to his own statements made later in life, Matlovich had become a “white racist” and “flag-waving patriot” in his early 20s. Matlovich joined the army and went to Vietnam . There he was seriously wounded during an operation when he stepped on a land mine in Da Nang . Matlovich returned to the United States. He received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for his work in Vietnam .

In the years that followed, Matlovich was stationed as a soldier in Florida near Fort Walton Beach, among other places . There he secretly visited homosexual bars in Pensacola for the first time and became increasingly aware of his sexual orientation . In 1975 Matlovich was stationed at Langley Air Force Base . Matlovich decided to reveal his sexual orientation to his superiors and took the decision of principle of the Supreme Court ( Brown v. Board of Education ) of 1954 as a model. Six months later, Matlovich received his notice. His employer allowed him to return as long as he signed a document stating that he would never commit homosexual acts again. Matlovich sued his employer's actions and, after several instances in 1980, won compensation in the amount of 160,000 dollars.

During these trials, Matlovich converted to Mormon and moved to Hampton , Virginia . Because of his publicly known homosexuality, he was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on October 7, 1975 in Norfolk, Virginia, and a second time on January 17, 1979 , after appearing on television on Phil Donahue's show .

Matlovich tombstone

Matlovich moved to California in the 1980s , where he lived in San Francisco . In the following years he became involved as an LGBT activist. Matlovich opened a pizza restaurant on the Russian River in California and then worked for the Ford auto company as a car salesman. In the 1980s, Matlovich fell ill with AIDS . In 1987, Matlovich announced his illness on the Good Morning America news program . Matlovich died on June 22, 1988 of complications from AIDS. Matlovich was buried in the Congressional Cemetery .

On his grave stone is the inscription: "When I was in the military, They gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one" ( "In the army I got a medal because I had killed two men and a discharge because I loved one ”) .

Near his grave is the grave site of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Army Times: Exhibit puts history of gay veterans on view
  2. ↑ 365gay.com Leonard P. Matlovich ( Memento from October 19, 2006 in the Internet Archive )

literature

See also

Web links

Wikiquote: Leonard Matlovich  - Quotes
personal data
SURNAME Matlovich, Leonard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American LGBT activist
DATE OF BIRTH July 6, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Savannah , Georgia
DATE OF DEATH June 22, 1988