StoryCorps: Denny Meyer

From: StoryCorps
Series: StoryCorps
Length: 01:45

U.S. Navy veteran Denny Meyer remembers what it was like to be gay and a sailor in the late 1960s. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: StoryCorps: Denny Meyer
From: StoryCorps

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When Denny Meyer enlisted in the Navy in 1968, he had to hide the fact that he was gay.

At the time, homosexuality wasn’t tolerated in the Navy and anyone found to be gay would be discharged from service.

At StoryCorps, Meyer recalled what it was like to be gay and a sailor in those days.

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Piece Description

When Denny Meyer enlisted in the Navy in 1968, he had to hide the fact that he was gay.

At the time, homosexuality wasn’t tolerated in the Navy and anyone found to be gay would be discharged from service.

At StoryCorps, Meyer recalled what it was like to be gay and a sailor in those days.

Broadcast History

NPR's Morning Edition June 22, 2012

Transcript

In those days, we served in silence. And, not one day passed when you didn’t worry that you were gonna to be found out.

When men are at sea they horse around. And so, they wrestle on the floor with thirty guys shouting. But, when anybody wanted to do that with me, I would grab their neck and bounce their head against the bulkheads “I don’t go for that,” you know. And so unintentionally, I got a reputation as the straightest guy around. [Laughs] You know, “Meyer won’t do that even for a joke, you know. “

And there was a witch hunt for homosexuals which happened periodically, and the offices called me in. And they said, “Meyer, you’re the only one we can be sure of.” [Laughs] Will you help us find these people?” And I said, “I don’t know nothing about that.” So you lead a lonely life, you know? You’re an island, all by your self.

Sometime later, I was at Fleet Headquarters and two men i...
Read the full transcript

Intro and Outro

INTRO:

This weekend, gay pride celebrations will mark the first year since the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," the law that banned gays from serving openly in the U.S. military.

Denny Meyer, 65, is a veteran who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. During a recent visit to StoryCorps, he remembered what it was like to be both gay and a sailor in the late 1960s.

OUTRO:

Meyer now serves as a vice president for American Veterans for Equal Rights, a nonprofit "association of active, reserve and veteran service members dedicated to full and equal rights and equitable treatment for all present and former members of the U.S. Armed Forces," according to its website.