Article: Ask and tell: gay veterans, identity, and oral history on a civil rights frontier.

Abstract In 1993 the "don't ask, don't tell" policy legislated the silence of gay and lesbian soldiers on active duty and in the reserves. This silence about gays in the military has led to a collective amnesia about the patriotic service and courageous sacrifices of homosexual troops. If we forget that gay and lesbian Americans have served their country, then we as a nation are much less likely to view them as full citizens, deserving of civil rights and equal protection of the law. Oral history provides one way to break this silence, to "ask and tell" about the military careers of gay and lesbian soldiers and to allow these veterans to speak for themselves about the ...

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