Coming
Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two by
Allan Berube
Based on interviews with gay and lesbian
veterans, wartime letters, recently declassified government
documents, and other sources, Berube tells the story of how the
military's mobilization for war made soldiers confront
homosexuality in their personal lives and changed the ways that
homosexuality fit into American institutions. Annotation copyright
Book News, Inc. Portland, Or. -- From Book News, Inc. ,
February 1, 1991
Allan Berube chronicles the story of the
thousands of gay men and lesbian women who were among those
proudly serving their country during the World War II years.
Coming Out Under Fire is an invaluable contribution not only
to gay history, but also to an aspect of our military history that
is often ignored yet still affects thousands of GIs and
veterans.
Coming
Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two by
Allan Berube
It has taken me almost FOREVER to write this
book review, which is a real pity, since this is the only book
about 'gays in the military' that you really should bother
reading. I read it last summer, when I was living in Northampton,
Massachusetts. The region is widely viewed as a lesbian mecca, and
while this statement is too extreme, it has a large kernel of
truth. There are many lesbians (god bless 'em) in the area, and
they are very socially and politically active. I would recommend
they read a book Honorable Discharge: Confessions of an Army Dyke.
(You can find that on Amazon.com) Not that I agree with the
premise in that book--as the reader will see shortly, Berube's
book is much better-- but they are more likely to relate to the
issues discussed, as they are from a woman's perspective. Berube--while
touching on the issue of lesbians in the military ('butches', as
he calls them often)-- spends most of his text on the male
perspective.
Gay activists expecting to see a book that falls
into the "Gays were fine in the military until Ronald Reagan
and all those born again Christians came along" are gonna be
REAL REAL disappointed in THIS text. Being gay was no problem in
the military until psychiatrists developed cute little oppression
theories and wondered if it might be more 'compassionate' to
dismiss gays from the armed services. When did THIS happen? Why,
just prior and during WWII! The primary motivation was to get
respect for their profession of psychiatry and if that meant a few
hundred--few thousand--few hundred thousand, by now--gays in the
US armed forces had a tougher go of it, well, that was just too
bad. By the 1950s the idea that gays were unfit for national
service, threats to national security, dissatisfied snivelers and
commie sympathizers was (with a little help from Philby, Burgess,
Maclean, Chambers...) firmly entrenched. The focus changed from
dismissing people on the basis of what they DID to dismissing them
for what they WERE. Sound familiar? The entire network, the
sickening web of government paternalism that characterized the 'no
way you can do it without help from us' politics of the 1960s and
early 1970s, culminating in quotas under the guise of 'affirmative
action' (no quotas on us gay guys, though! Sorry folks..we were on
the wrong side of the fence!); all dates back to this period. It
fell apart under the cumulative weight of its own stupidity in the
1980s. May it never rise again.
Berube deals with the problems gay men and women
endured serving in the US Armed forces with dignity and calm
professionalism. He daels with delicate emotional issues with
maturity and discretion. To Randy Shilts, US Navy ships are
floating drag shows filled with t-rooms in the bulkheads. To
Berube, they were a difficult environment where men might have to
seek moments of affection in such isolated places as anterooms
near gun turrets. Berube makes clear that 'campiness' and 'double
entendres' amidst gay personnel were a way to survive and endure
in a military setting; a way to release tension and relax. To
Shilts they were verbal personal ads. To Berube, having to share
bunks on troop trains meant that men might be able to get together
'once the curtains were drawn in those lower bunks.' To Shilts all
that would matter was an orgy en route. In summary, this book is
not about Gay Soldiers. Berube talks about Soldiers, who happen to
be gay. Gay activists have yet to learn the difference, if they
ever will. -- Nagaisan
