MY CAREER AS AN AUTHOR is due almost solely to the assistance of one person, my editor at St. Martin’s Press, Michael Denneny. Neither of my earlier books would have been published except for him; this third book reflects his ongoing confidence and support. The second crucial figure has been my literary agent Fred Hill, who prodded me to do this book and has been unfailing in his support.
My independent editor Doris Ober helped me fine-tune the manuscript, making me look much smarter than I really am. I’m also grateful to my friend Katie Leishman for her editing and friendship.
This book marked the first time I was afforded the luxury of researchers, who helped make this book both timely and thorough. Steve Robin assisted me with interviews around the country while Jennifer M. Finlay performed miracles in libraries and archives, ferreting out written material. I’m also grateful to Judy Miller, Gart Zeebregts, who helped with the European research, and Sam Gallegos, who followed down leads in Colorado.
Many libraries and archives were invaluable in helping assemble the material for this book, including the Lesbian and Gay Archives of San Diego, Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California Archives, San Francisco Chronicle library, International Lesbian & Gay Association, University of California at Berkeley Library, San Francisco State University library, National Archives, California State Library, Stanford University library, Hastings College of Law, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Department of Naval History. Of particular help were Linda M. Finlay, Jim Kempner and the International Gay and Lesbian Archives in Los Angeles, Don Michaels of the Washington Blade and Linda Wheeler of the Hoover Institute Library.
A number of people generously shared their files and research with me for this book, including Howard Wallace, William Lederer, Vaughan Taylor, Patricia Davis, Linda Grant De Pauw, Charles Thompson of 60 Minutes, Peter Cary of U.S. News & World Report, Howard Bragman, Benjamin Schatz, Marc Wolinsky, Diana Shaw, and especially Dr. Rhonda Rivera of Ohio State University Law School. Other figures prominent in the issue of gays in the military also gave me an extraordinary amount of time, even though the structure of the book did not permit me to record their stories completely. These people include Jim Woodward, Mary Newcombe, Miriam Ben-Shalom, Michael Patton, Karen Stupsky, Bill Woods, Ted Werner, Bridget Wilson, Robert Adams, and especially Kate Dyer. I’m also grateful to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force for helping me contact gay and lesbian veterans, as well as the many gay newspapers that carried my request for interviews.
Although I drew on many other written accounts for background, I am particularly indebted to three for their influence in shaping my attitudes on this subject. Allan Bérubé’s definitive account of gays in World War II, Coming Out Under Fire, pioneered research into gays in the military and set forth a number of themes repeated in this work. Also crucial in formulating my thoughts were two essays, Dr. Kenneth Karst’s “The Pursuit of Manhood and the Desegregation of the Armed Forces,” first published in the UCLA Law Review, and “Military Women in Nontraditional Job Fields: Casualties of the Armed Forces War on Homosexuals” by Michelle M. Benecke and Kirstin S. Dodge, first published in the Harvard Women’s Law Journal.
Thanks to the friends of Bill Wilson, who helped sustain me through this arduous project with their experience, strength, and hope. I remain indebted to the support of my film agent Ron Bernstein, my lecture agent George Greenfield, and to Annie & Barry Biderman, Pamela Vevea, Lisa Calpadini, Dale Jenkins, and Pam Pryal for their help. I am blessed with many very good friends who have always been there for me. They include Bill Cagle, Janie Krohn, Cindy Hirsh, Will Pretty, Dan Yoder, Danny Richter, Rebecca Geil, Ann Neuenschwander, and Robert Tan.
A reporter can only be as good as his sources. The people who most assisted me were the 1,100 people who took the time to share their experiences and knowledge with me. I’m grateful to the many people within the Defense Department and the military who gave me background briefings not only on Pentagon personnel policies but on the military subculture. Many of my interviews were with active-duty and Reserve personnel who worried that their cooperation might cost them their military careers. Yet they were there for me just the same. They cannot be publicly identified; you know who you are, and I thank you.