Letters

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO THE EDITORS FORWARD LETTERS FROM READERS TO OTHER PERSONS NOR DO THEY ANSWER CORRESPONDENCE MAKING SUCH REQUESTS.

THE HOMOSEXUAL VIEWPOINT Dear Mr. Slater:

To your organization all I can say is, keep up the wonderful work you are doing to enlighten and educate the public as to "the homosexual viewpoint." More states should follow the progressive thinking which the state of Illinois has demonstrated in revising its criminal statutes.

The society we live in believes we are demented or sick. How about the police chief who believes in beating or tormenting those he arrests into giving and signing confessions, or the over-zealous politician who will use unscrupulous methods to achieve his goals? Are these to be considered individuals with healthy minds?

They claim we have no religion. We have religion where it belongs, in the heart. Oh yes, you will find many heterosexuals in the neighborhood of church or synagogue every week, but that doesn't necessarily make them all the holiest of mortals.

They say they can't understand us. How many were able to understand men like Edison, Bell, Einstein. or Columbus? Mr. F.

Dear Editor:

Cornwells Heights, Penna.

I am writing this letter in my pretty little cottage nestling away among the green hills in the west of Ireland, six thousand miles. from Los Angeles. I was born on an obscure farm here in Ireland sixty years ago. At an early age I was different from other boys and my queerness has carried me all over the U. S. A. in forty years of roaming.

My memories go back to Central Park and Riverside Drive, where as a boy I had my first affair. Then to Boston, Chicago, Union Square in San Francisco, Pershing Square in Los Angeles and Bradley's Bar on Hollywood Boulevard. Always I seemed to be chasing rainbows, meeting so-called friends who always turned out to be scheming enemies.

one

My years of dabbling in Pen Pal-ism brought me nothing but heartaches. Now, I don't have a friend in the world aside from my dog. I'm alone in my house by the side of the road, keeping busy in my garden. During my last years in New York I got acquainted with ONE Magazine, which I read with great interest. I still manage to get an occasional copy through the underground, which is very strong in Dublin and London.

God Bless ONE for the good work it is doing. Keep up the good fight for our rights. Mr. E. Connemara, Ireland

Dear Sirs:

The letter from Mr. P. (September, 1962) concerning the WBAI-FM radio program in New York was of great interest to me. If any of the eight participants gave the public the impression that homosexuals try to avoid service to their country in the armed services then they did us a grave injustice. What a "nellie swish" it would take to make a remark like that.

I am proud of my military record and even more so since I am a homosexual. I served in one of the deadliest campaigns of World War II as a combat infantryman and I was shot six times doing so. Most of the homosexuals I have met have served their country and served it well. I have a strong desire to know more about homosexuality and the armed forces. It is high time we showed the public our stronger points instead of the weak ones with which they are well acquainted.

Dear ONE:

Mr. H. New York, N. Y.

In 1955 | enlisted in the Navy and got along poorly with many of my co-enlistees, who teased and harassed me to the point where I had a severe but brief nervous breakdown which resulted in a stay at the 'observation ward" of a Naval Hospital. A psychiatrist of about 28 spent over hour discussing his many girl friends with me. I listened without comment and at the end of the interview he said, "I believe you have strong homosexual leanings." Shortly thereafter I received an honorable discharge accompanied by the following code under the authority for discharge: Article C-10307 (1) (e) BuPers Manual; Mu Med Instruction 1910.2a.

I feel that homosexuals have and can make a strong contribution to the growth of civilization, for now former social outcasts are able to enter into the stream of

living and introduce their contributions, whereas before such individuals, overcome by fear and public ridicule, were reduced to being neurotics.

I therefore regard a movement such as

30