06/05/2026
Leonard Matlovich "had a gift, peculiar to someone who really only had a high-school
education and knew nothing about the gay rights movement before he became one of its
leaders, of appreciating historical perspective.” (Time Magazine, 2015).
Leonard Matlovich served in the Vietnam War and was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple
Heart. When he returned to the States, at a Virginia Air Force base, he came out publicly
as gay. Matlovich was one of the first military service members to step out of the closet
and was given a general discharge.
Matlovich expected this and hoped his case would reach the Supreme Court to make
national progress on LGBTQ+ rights. From living in the closet to being on the cover of Time
Magazine, Matlovich's life changed overnight. While his case was resolved before reaching
the Supreme Court, his discharge was changed to honorable, and he was awarded back
pay and a settlement. And the national conversation for equality continued.
The years that followed put Matlovich in the public eye, shining a light on the irony of
serving a nation that discriminated against him for whom he loved. His work empowered
countless LGBTQ+ veterans, who are now older adults, to come out of the closet and fight
for equality in the military and beyond.
Matlovich died at 44 from AIDS. His unnamed tombstone reads, "A Gay Vietnam Veteran -
When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for
loving one."
Read Leonard Matlovich's 1975 Times article here: https://time.com/archive/6851549/the%20sexes-th%20e-sergeant-v-the-air-force/
