50: Leonard Matlovich

 

50 years ago today (September 8, 1975) Technical Sergeant Leonard Phillip Matlovich of the US Air Force became the first Actively Serving Gay Service to purposely Out himself to the US Military to fight their ban on Homosexuals in the US Military.

He not only was on the cover of “Time” Magazine and The New York Times,  but did numerous Television Interviews (CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite) and had a Television Movie made about himself.

Leonard Matlovich was born on June 6, 1943 at Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah, Georgia to Air Force Sergeant Leonard Matlovich.

He was a Military Brat who moved from one Base to another due to his Father’s Air Force career.

Leonard enlisted in the US Air Force when he was 19 years old in 1963.

Leonard volunteered for service in Vietnam and served 3 Tours of Duty there.

He was seriously wounded when he stepped on a landmine in Da Nang, South Vietnam.

He received the: Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart and the Air Force Commendation,

Back in the US and after witnessing the Racism of the Jim Crow South, Leonard volunteered to teach Air Force Race Relations Classes.

He became so successful that the Air Force sent him around the country to coach other Instructors.

Leonard gradually came to believe that the discrimination faced by Gay People was similar to that faced by African Americans.

In 1973, when he was 30 years old, he Came Out to his Friends, but had to continue to keep it a secret from the US Military because of their Officially Gay Discrimination Policies.

In March 1975, after consulting with the ACLU and Gay Activists like Frank Kameny, Leonard hand-delivered a letter stating that he was Homosexual to his Langley Air Force Base Commanding Officer.

His Parents found out he was Gay when the story broke nationwide.

At that time, the Air Force had a fairly ill-defined exception clause that could allow Gay People to continue to serve if there were extenuating circumstances.

These circumstances might include being immature or drunk, exemplary service, or a one-time experimentation (known sarcastically as the "Queen for a Day" Rule). During Leonard’s September 1975 Administrative Discharge Hearing, an Air Force Attorney asked him if he would sign a document pledging to "never practice Homosexuality again" in exchange for being allowed to remain in the Air Force.

Leonard refused.

Despite his Exemplary Military Record, Tours of Duty in Vietnam, and high performance evaluations, the panel ruled Leonard Matlovich unfit for service, and he was recommended for a General (Under Honorable Conditions) Discharge.

The Base Commander, Colonel Alton J. Thogersen, citing Leonard’s Service Record, recommended that it be upgraded to Honorable. The Secretary of the Air Force agreed, confirming Matlovich's discharge in October 1975.

Leonard sued for reinstatement.

The Air Force offered Leonard a Financial Settlement instead. Convinced that the Military would find some other reason to Discharge him if he reentered the service, or that the Conservative Supreme Court would rule against him should the Air Force Appeal, Leonard accepted. The figure, based on back pay, future pay, and Pension, was $160,000 ($6,196,915.66 in 2025 Dollars.)

From the moment his case was revealed to the public, Leonard was repeatedly called upon by Gay Groups to help them with fundraising and advocating against Anti-Gay Discrimination, helping lead campaigns against Anita Bryant's efforts in Miami, Florida, to overturn a Gay Nondiscrimination Ordinance and John Briggs' attempt to ban Gay Teachers in California.

While appealing his Military Discharge, he moved from Virginia to Washington, D.C., and, in 1978, to San Francisco.

In 1981, he moved to the Russian River town of Guerneville, where he used the proceeds of his Settlement to open a Pizza Restaurant (it was closed in 1984.)

in 1985 he sold Ford Cars and once again became heavily involved in Gay Rights Causes and the fight for adequate HIV/AIDS Education and Treatment.

On June 22, 1988 in West Hollywood, California, a month before his 45^th Birthday, Leonard Matlovich died.

He was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

On his Tombstone read: “When I was in the Military they gave me a Medal for killing Two Men and a Discharge for loving One.”

Before his death Leonard donated his Personal Papers and Memorabilia to the GLBT Historical Society, a Museum, Archives and Research Center in San Francisco.

In 2011 the United States Military officially ended its Gay Discrimination allowing Homosexuals to openly serve in the US Military.

In 2015, Homosexuals across the United States (except on Indian Reservations and American Samoa) were allowed to marry.