Meet Army veteran Rupert Starr.
Like thousands of other young men in the 1940s, Rupert Starr joined the Army, fought overseas and saw his share of hardship, including several weeks as a German prisoner of war. He returned to Ohio with a Bronze Star for heroism and a secret.
Not until his service as a military man was needed once again — this time as an activist against the Pentagon's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy — did Starr, who is gay, slowly step out of the closet.
Starr, who is now 92, appeared in a 2004 promotional video created by the Log Cabin Republicans as pressure against Republican lawmakers still fighting for anti-gay military policies. The policy didn't fall until 2009, but Starr was recognized for his efforts sooner than that.
In 2009, Starr was named grand marshal of the Columbus gay pride parade, the second largest in the Midwest after Chicago. It was a far cry from decades ago when Starr watched a pride parade standing by bushes where he figured he could hide in case someone saw him.
People who still bristle at the notion of gay Americans in our military (lookin' at you,
America's Dumbest Congressman) can never quite wrap their heads around the simple fact that gay Americans have been serving in our military for as long as there's been one. They served, fought, were wounded, some died, and some like Starr were held as prisoners of war. Anyone who still questions their abilities can take it up with veterans like Rupert Starr, who proved himself before many of our most prominent current grousers were out of diapers.