For 21 years the British Army was unable to expel them due to the sexual orientation of the soldiers, but did not return their medals. Finally what the British government agrees to do. The first step to rehabilitation that thousands of players expect.
It was the beginning of the rehabilitation of thousands of British soldiers who had been tortured and expelled because of their sexuality.
Until 2000, the military fired soldiers because of their sexual orientation and lost their rewards. It was announced by the Ministry of Defense These players, homosexual or bisexual, can now claim their medals.
Joe O’Sullivan, a radio operator in the Royal Navy for 13 years, participated in the Falklands War, serving in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. He is a good soldier. But his life changes when he learns of his hierarchy that he sometimes shares his bed with another man. In 1993, he committed suicide in court. He was fired because he was bisexual.
He loses everything and tries to end his life
“On my last day in the army, I saw myself in front of the base commander”, Says Joe O’Sullivan. “He told me there was no place in this world for disgusting people like me. I lost my house, my car, my girlfriend … I was in debt, it took me 10 years to recover financially. I jumped and tried to kill myself on a bridge.”
“Medals are good …”
Today, he recovered his medal, but if the Ministry of Defense acts, the reason is that Joe has filed a complaint. Her lawyer Emma Norton is also a founder Center for Military Justice She has no intention of stopping there.
“Talking about medals is all good and good, but this is only the first step”, Master Norton explains. “There’s still a lot to do. All of these LGBT soldiers are starting to get financial compensation and are much poorer than they should be.”
At age 70, Joe received only a small pension because the military humiliated him before he was expelled. His fight is with all the players who were humiliated until 2000.
“It’s probably about thousands of people.”
Fight led by Lieutenant Commander Craig Jones. This former Navy man had to cover up his homosexuality for the rest of his life. He is now president of the association Fighting with pride To help LGBT soldiers.
“Some condemned homosexuality, others discriminated against the good order of military discipline, and then were forced to resign. It is about thousands of people.” He insists.
Boris Johnson talks about a “historical error” today Recognizes that these soldiers have fallen victim to a “great injustice”.
“Food trailblazer. Passionate troublemaker. Coffee fanatic. General analyst. Certified creator. Lifelong music expert. Alcohol specialist.”