When it was my turn to take home the D.A.R.E. Lion 🦁 stuffed animal for the weekend that was the very same weekend my mom decided to leave my dad and move states. So he moved too 🦁🫢
This is the headstone of Tech Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, USAF. He was the first openly gay man to out himself to fight the ban on queer people serving in the military. He was a brave, battle-tested soldier, earning a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star during his career.
After leaving the military, he fought as an AIDS activist and proponent of LGBT rights. He was offered to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, one of the highest honors for a military veteran. Instead, he opted to be buried in a corner of the Congressional Cemetery underneath a beautiful tree. Many queer military members chose to be buried alongside him; that corner of the cemetery is known as the "queer corner."