AVER hosts 19th Veterans Day Dinner

The Chicago Chapter of the American Veterans for Equal Rights had a special reason to celebrate during their 19th Annual Veterans Day Dinner, held Nov. 11 at Ann Sather restaurant on Belmont. This was the first year that openly gay and lesbian servicemembers could join them, because the long-time military ban on openly gay servicemembers was finally lifted effective Sept. 20, 2011 by Congress and President Barack Obama.

The keynote speaker was in fact an openly gay U.S. Navy Reservist, LS1 Leonard Lucio, who had spoken out as a gay man for the first time at AVER’s Sept. 20 celebration. Lucio has served 21 years and is a Desert Storm Veteran. He just re-enlisted for another six years in the U.S. Naval Reserves, and spoke about the difficulty of serving while closeted. Lucio was also from the same South Suburban neighborhood as the late Allen Schindler, a gay sailor killed by two shipmates, and he spoke of the great loss he felt since his friend was murdered. Lucio also urged other servicemembers to have the courage to come out and fight for repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. While DOMA is the federal law, gay servicemembers will still be handled differently when it comes to equal benefits and treatment of spouses.

Ed Zasadil presented the colors for the evening, Travis sang the lesbian-pennded America the Beautiful (by Katharine Lee Bates), and Echo Taps was played by Susan Jones and Eric Ryerson. Victor Salvo and Lori Canon from the Legacy Project attended the event, and Salvo spoke about the military heroes who will be honored as part of the project. A mockup of the Air Force TSgt. Sergeant Leonard Matlovich plaque was on display at the dinner.

AVER presented their annual “Happy Warrior” awards to Lucio and AVER board member MSgt. (Retired) Jean Albright for their commitment to fighting for equal rights in the military.

— Tracy Baim