Air Force grants honourable discharge to 91-year-old gay vet
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A 91-year-old veteran who was dismissed from the U.S. Air Force as “undesirable” in 1948 because he is gay has had that discharge status changed to “honourable.”
The move by the Air Force comes in response to a lawsuit filed in November by H. Edward Spires of Norwalk, Connecticut, who served from 1946 to 1948 as a chaplain’s assistant, earning the rank of sergeant.
Spires was forced out of the military in 1948 after an investigation into his sexual orientation.
Spires’ attorneys said he was originally denied the discharge upgrade after the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in 2010 because the Air Force said his records had likely been lost in a 1973 fire.