Matlovich Comes Out: Time Cover Changes Military
Leonard Matlovich had a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart, and three tours in Vietnam. He didn't hide any of that when he sat for the Time cover photo in September 1975 — uniform pressed, ribbons in place — because hiding was exactly what he'd decided to stop doing. The Air Force discharged him anyway. He fought it for years and won an honorable discharge in 1980. His tombstone in Washington reads: 'When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.'
September 8, 1975
51 years ago
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