Color photograph of Helen James in her home, holding a photo album of her time in the Air Force. Six decades after the Air Force kicked her out for being a lesbian, James was finally awarded the honorable discharge. Approximately 100,000 lesbian and gay veterans were dishonorably discharged from the military since World War II; they were stigmatized, harrassed and denied crucial veterans’ benefits.
Color photograph of the gravesite of Leonard Matlovich reads, "Never Again 6 July 1943 / Never Forget 22 June 1988. A Gay Vietnam Veteran. When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men - And a discharge for loving one."
Photograph of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base personnel posed in front of a banner hung from a chainlink fence reading "LGBT Pride Month: Strength Through Diversity, Davis-Monthan AFB".
Black and white photo of Helen Harder in her Link Instrument flight simulator during her service with the Fourth Army Air Corps. Harder served in the Women's Army Corps (WACS) as a flight instructor during World War II.
Attribution:
World War Two (WWII) Project Records [1892-1996], courtesy of the GLBT Historical Society