Profiles in Patriotism A Soldier Speaks Danny Ingram American Veterans for Equal Rights Southern Region Vice President By Denny Meyer

Danny Ingram bears the dubious distinction of being one of the first Americans discharged under the Don't Ask Don't Tell law.  It's a bit of a story.

Danny grew up on his grandfather's multi-generational farm in rural Georgia.  His grandfather had served in the US Navy, in the Pacific, during WWII.  His great uncle served in the Army Air Corps in WWII and Korea, starting as a mechanic and retiring as a Lt. Colonel.  The family was deeply religious; dancing, movies, card playing, alcohol and nearly everything else was forbidden.  Faith and resilient self-reliance, as taught by his grandmother, were the guiding influences of his youth.  It was only after he left that environment and isolation that he realized he was gay, while attending Emory University in Atlanta.

Danny is a decisive sort of person who has made a career of meaningful life-changing decisions.  Some of those at first sounded rather wild and reckless; but each was a matter of being true to himself.  One of the first was to drop the idea of entering a seminary and becoming a clergyman.  Another early choice was to join the Army Reserve, in 1988.

"What were you thinking, joining the military knowing that you are gay?" I asked him.
He told me, "I wanted to do something for my country, I wanted to feel I was doing something good; and it would be an adventure.  It made me mad when people told me I couldn't do that (because I was gay); I wanted to do it!"  (Those words set off an echo in my head as those were my own exact thoughts 20 years earlier.  One might wonder if there is something about young gay men making the same choices despite one being a rural southern Christian and the other an urban northeastern Jew; but I realized, its not about being gay, what we have in common is being American).

In his six years of service, Danny Ingram was an Admin. Specialist, Materials and Supply Handling Specialist, and Warehouse Operator.  His work involved direct supply and support to the front lines, delivering food, fuel, and body bags among other items.  Among the decorations he earned were sharpshooter badges  for rifle and grenade launcher and a marksman badge for M60 machine gun, an Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal, and an Army Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster.

Danny would likely have gone on for twenty years of selfless service; but complacency is not one of his attributes.  When the first President Clinton promised, during his campaign, to lift the ban on gays in the military, Danny believed the promise.  He did not want people to think that gays had not been serving all along.  It was not in his nature to wait and see what happened; he decided to speak out then and there.  As Leonard Matlovitch had done 20 years earlier, he wrote a letter to his commanding officer saying that being able to be open would enhance the service of gay people who have always served their nation.  He did not say that he was gay.  But when the questioning began, he was in fact asked.  This was before the "Don't Ask" provision and the rest of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy was actually put into law.  He answered forthrightly, in writing, that he was gay.  Oy vey.

That courageous honesty resulted in a hearing that was remarkable in the respect of the convening officers and NCOs for his truthfulness and integrity.  The First Sgt at the hearing was black and the Unit Commander was Latino.  The commander told him, "My grandfather had to get his ass kicked so that I could be in the US Army; the First Sgt.'s grandfather got his ass kicked so that he could serve; now, Ingram, you will get your ass kicked so your people can serve."  It was bluntly and  rather crudely put, but incredibly respectful of who he was considering the circumstance.

A final decision was put on hold for over six months, while everyone awaited word from the newly elected president.  During this time, he was at first put on alternative duty away from his unit; but when he and his commander came to realize that none of his peers had any problem nor discomfort with him working among them, he resumed his normal duties.  When all discharges due to homosexuality were suspended while the issue was in turmoil inside the beltway in DC, his commander said, "Ingram, you may get what you want."

At the hearing, several other officers had also expressed that they saw no reason why a gay person, and Sgt. Ingram in particular, should not be allowed to serve with them.  But, the prosecutor made it clear that, according to regulations, homosexuality was incompatible with military service.  In 1948 President Truman had integrated Black Americans into our armed forces by executive order, setting the stage for the civil rights and prohibitions of discrimination that followed in the next 20 years.  Some of the respect Danny Ingram received from his hearing panel seemingly was because it was fully expected that President Clinton would follow suit and begin the liberation of Gay Americans by executive order to the military.

Instead, a so-called compromise was enacted by Congress that prohibited gay service members from speaking about who they were, and from engaging in homosexuality, while being allowed to serve in silence.  Although Danny admitted to being gay before this policy was enacted, he was nevertheless among the first to be discharged under the new policy, honorably, due to homosexuality. Danny is some kind of hero.  While he was under investigation, he spoke out at a rally, for lifting the ban on gays, in front of the Pentagon.  He wrote letters, to President Clinton, Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, Senators and Congressmen.  All answered, some with remarkable support, in retrospect.

Since leaving the Army, Danny has devoted his energy to gay and environmental activism, while earning his living as a university IT systems analyst.  He has founded an LGBT employees group and has worked to develop non-discrimination policies and to obtain domestic partner and other EEO benefits.  He has served on a university LGBT task force and commission to further understanding and recognition of basic rights.  He has won a university award and recognition for his advocacy.

Danny began his activist efforts even before his departure from the Army, co-sponsoring one of the first World AIDS Day Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt displays in his area.  He has led and volunteered in local environmental efforts that have been awarded for community green advocacy programs.

He has been the coordinator of his parish AIDS Outreach Ministries and served for years a volunteer at a local hospital's AIDS/HIV ward.  He has sponsored several children in Latin America via the Christian Children's Fund.  And he is a liturgical cantor and a member of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.  Where does he find the time for all this!  But, there's more.

In local politics, he was a founding member of a state LGBT Caucus, and has been a driving force at the county level, as well, where he successfully passed a resolution requesting Congresswoman Cynthia
McKinney to support the Military Readiness Enhancement Act which resulted in her becoming a co-sponsor of the bill that would repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy and prohibit discrimination against sexual minorities in the military.

As a gay veteran, Danny co-founded and serves as the coordinator of the Atlanta Pride Military Color and Honor Guard.  He is the president of American Veterans For Equal Rights Georgia Chapter, and the Region 1 (Southern) Vice President--coordinating AVER chapters in the southern US.

Oh, and in his spare time (???), Danny played in the LGBT Hotlanta Softball League for 6 years and
served as a league official for 4 years, including one term as league commissioner.  He wrote a weekly sports column for a LGBT publication called Etcetera Magazine for 10 years.

Just imagine what he could do if he had any ambition!  Rather, he devotes all his time to furthering rights, helping others, and preserving nature in the world around him.

©  2007  Gay Military Signal