Exploring Sexual Identity in the U.S. Navy: Sailors Navigating Between Straight and Gay Identities | LGBTQ+ Military Studies Book | Perfect for Researchers and History Enthusiasts

Written in the Era of Don't Ask Don't Tell, the author interviewed veterans who gave their accounts about widespread same-sex activity aboard navy ships, with civilians ashore, and in the marines, during World War II and on into the 90's, as well as widespread acceptance, tacit or open, of their gay comrades..The navy has always strove to create a public image of exclusively straight sailors and marines, with gays screened out at the recruiting office, and punishing and expelling any gay men who got through as soon as they were discovered. sometimes going to absurd (and often cruel) lengths to maintain this fiction.But as a navy saying quoted in the book goes, "It ain't queer unless you're tied to the pier!", with gay ex-sailors and marines reporting that many straight sailors and marines engaged barely concealed same-sex activity aboard ship.As related by veterans, many officers chose to look the other way, including aboard the iconic aircraft carriers of the Pacific War in WWII - in particular staying away from the gun tubs just below the level of the edges of the flight decks, so they would not see things they didn't want to report.Across all eras, many officers also chose not to report valuable (and often very popular) gay personnel, even when they were well known in the unit to be gay, and openly accepted as such by their shipmates and comrades.As the book covers, this was especially true of navy corpsmen, who serve the marines as medics (the marines apparently don't have medics of their own), with some of them estimating that the majority of navy corpsmen are gay (as of the time of the book anyway). I guess when someone is ready to risk their life dragging their wounded comrades out of the line of fire and working tirelessly to save their lives, that counts a lot more than what gender they prefer to sleep with.Buy a used copy, or if you can't find one, look for a copy at a local library.