This young man begged me to remain anonymous…
I hope I’m not too late for your Sunday piece?
I am a gay, free-lance writer who writes for and is published only in the gay media….
A year ago - and in response to an article I had written - I was contacted by a young gay Marine who reached out to me. He was recuperating stateside from injuries he received while fighting in Iraq. Over several months of tentative, tender correspondance, this 20-something young man related the following to me…. He loved the Marines, even though he was gay. He still loves them. No one ever knew his sexual orientation, because he never expressed it while in the service. He was shot once in the shoulder, picked up his purple heart, and returned to combat. Then his arm was ripped up a bit by shrapnel. Another purple heart, but he was eager to return to combat, so that he could fight with, and protect his buddies. Then; the IED that tore through his convoy, injuring many and killing two.
That one did him in. His legs were shredded, and chunks of shrapnel tore through his brain and face. His spinal cord was severely injured, though he can walk with great difficulty and pain now, after months of recuperation. He refers to himself as ‘Frankenstein’, as he describes his face. And that’s as far as his vanity goes. Because it’s the brain damage that tortures him most. He is subject to rages and depression; memory lapses, and severe mood swings. About once a month? He is hospitalized because one or more of his wounds are infected.
His only regret? Is that he couldn’t save his two buddies who died. Their faces torture his sleep every night now, for nearly 3 years. Imagine it…
And some smug ‘General’ has declared him ‘immoral’??? This boy - no, this man - was fighting for a country whose so-called leaders despised him. What kind of country has this become? Is the Taliban abroad? Or does it wear the American military uniform of elistist generals? The frocks of the religious?
This young man begged me to remain anonymous - such was and is his shame and fear that others might besmirch his service, that he is so proud of. He is currently useless for gainful employment. He has not much of a future, crippled and brain damaged as he is. He only has his memories of his warrior years when his body was whole, and his commitment so deep. Only at gunpoint would I surrender his name - give a face to this too true story that will otherwise be untold, except for this small glimpse I can share…
Three purple hearts… And some uppity General has deemed him ‘immoral’. That man - and all of his ilk - are not even fit enough, not man enough to change this young man’s diapers this day, in our glorious America, in 2007. And to think, that amidst all of the bullets and shrapnel that have pierced this warrior’s body; his own military leaders - and a great segment of our society - have pierced his fragile heart with a shame that he feels helpless now, to fight back against. Bullets and shrapnel are very good at finding flesh.
They rarely hit their their most ignoble target - prejudice.
Sincerely,
James L. Bloor