Harvey Milk joined the U.S. Navy immediately after college in 1951 to serve in the Navy as a diving officer on submarine rescue ships USS Kittiwake and Chanticleer. Apparently, he was good at his job as he was sent as a diving instructor to San Diego. In 1955, he was forced to resign over his homosexuality. The Navy lost a good man.
Milk put himself forward for public office — despite the discrimination he had received from the Navy, despite the discrimination he could expect running for office, despite the danger he might face from public prejudice and hatred. Milk was a brave man, a patriot, a true warrior in the military and out. He was elected Supervisor of San Francisco ... and subsequently assassinated in 1978.
Human resources are the greatest assets the United States has. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the removal of Harvey Milk’s name is to get politics out of the armed services. He certainly did not do that. He put politics in. The politics of this administration — hate, fear, and their greatest accomplishment — loud vociferous blatant lies. ("Hegseth orders the name of gay rights activist Harvey Milk scrubbed from Navy ship," June 5.)
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Hegseth wears his beliefs on his skin: tattoos espousing militant Christian nationalism and hatred against Arabs. That leaves out a lot of Americans, including most Christians. Secretary Hegseth, stop punching your betters, like Harvey Milk.
Rita Lamonica
Crestwood
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