Bless him and you, Joan. r.

really, nothing needs to be said that isn't inscribed on that granite. thank you for posting this, joanie.

Breathtaking, in the most literal sense.

Wow.

On a side note, I wonder if there was any problem having that headstone installed. It was my impression (perhaps due to the hoo-haw over Pagan symbols) that you can't put up whatever you like if it is unconventional.

P.S. - Would be nice if Santorum (of last night's debate) looked at this and *got* it.

Joanie it says it all..
a shame that it existed at all.
HUGGGGGGGG

I wonder how many of the 58,000+ names on the Wall were closeted?

Thanks for posting. / R

Thank you and Leonard and all that have served with dignity for the greater purpose, unselfishly. Bravo and it's about time U.S. of A (ll)!

An example of authentic courage. I can't quite read the dates...born 1943, but died when? Even more remarkable given his age, and that this was probably the Vietnam era.

Oh, wow! I can't think of a better celebratory tribute than this photo, Joanie. Thank you for posting this.

Lezlie

greenheron, sorry about the date on the right. It is 22 June, 1988.

The headstone is eloquent. As you always are.

Amazing. Simply amazing.

This is a wonderful tribute, Joanie. Thanks for posting it.

I remember Leonard Matlovich's appearance on the Mike Douglas show, so many years ago, and he was so far ahead of his time--he was an effective speaker with an audience that did not know what to make of him. This is amazing.

Amazing and iconic. I am so glad DADT is history. There are still pockets of animosity in the military and in broader society, but it's clear that when the bullets start flying, the last thing anyone is thinking is the sexual orientation of the soldier next to you.

I remember Leonard Matlovich's appearance on the Mike Douglas show, so many years ago, and he was so far ahead of his time--he was an effective speaker with an audience that did not know what to make of him. Wonderful headstone.

Wow!

Thanks for taking a look, everyone.
@Myriad, I had never been to this cemetery before. I came upon this incredible gravestone quite by accident. There is a small bench to the left of it as well. It is as Jeanette said, breathtaking.
J. Edgar Hoover is also buried in the Congressional Cemetery...

Bless your curious eye, Joan.

Oh, this makes me cry, Joanie H. Thank you for posting!

OS is full of really powerful stuff today. That inscription? Amazing. Powerful.

timely, just right.

Great piece.

No words needed for this one, Joan. Rated for all those who served.

A brave man and a good woman. Is that your image reflected in the granite, Joanie?

That gave me a shiver..........

sad and beautiful. I'm so sorry anyone has to endure hate and prejudice and discrimination. thanks.

Thank you for this most worthy post.

Thank you, Joan -R-

You gave all of us a gift. Just as he did. Thank you.

RRRrrrraaaaaaattted.

Awesome. No better way to memorialize the death of DADT.

Wow. What an exit line! Good for him and all the others whose stands and struggles have chipped away at this remaining "respectable" discrimination. Now if someone could just get the word out to Santorum and the Teapartians.

That is a powerful message. And what courage it took!

WOW!

Wow. Thank you.

Wow. Thank you.

I'd never heard the name Leonard P. Matlovich before; now I'll never forget it.

So few words say everything.

Powerful. May he rest in peace.

Wow.
That is an intense headstone, how sad this is the defining sentence of this man's life.

Thank you, Joan. Leonard and I were close friends. Much more information about him, including videos of TV interviews, speeches, etc., can be found at the site I created, www.leonardmatlovich.com. To answer a couple of quick questions, no, there was no problem with the stone which he designed as a memorial to all gay veterans, and was made from the same kind of black reflective granite as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall. The pink triangles reference the patches gay men had to wear in Nazi concentration camps. One of the reasons he chose Congressional Cemetery, which is just a few blocks from where we lived on G Street SE, over Arlington [which is some 50 years "younger"] was because, not having the status of, e.g., the Kennedy brothers, he would not have been able to install such a unique marker in Arlington Cemetery. In adddition, it is the final resting place of the man thought to be poet Walt Whitman's greatest love, Peter Doyle. Finally, it is also the burial place of infamous FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Because he was such an oppressor of anyone "different," including gays, Leonard wanted a kind of "last laugh." So he chose the same row that Hoover's grave is in knowing that most people visiting Hoover would have to pass by his first. In addition, the plot of Hoover's longtime closest friend [and some believe lover though no evidence has been found to confirm it], Clyde Tolson, is just four away from Leonard's. On the Website, you can see photos of the graves of other gays who have chosen to be buried in the cemetery since Leonard was. Under the person's name, the stone in the left back of your photo reads, "A Proud Gay Teacher and Businessman." Thank you again for reminding everyone of what too many have forgotten: the road to repeal was officially begun by Leonard Matlovich in 1975.

Dear Michael,

Thank you very much for adding so many missing pieces to this photograph. I cannot tell you how much that means to me and so many others.
Joan H.

Michael Bedwell's comment here is all the more reason for this post to be on the cover.

@Matt, thanks for taking another look. I think this is fascinating and very cool that Michael contacted me with this information. I wish he would do a post~

Thank the people who ended this so this travesty will not continue on.

The photo plus Mr. Bedwell's notes are kind of astonishing. I wish I'd had a chance to know Leonard; I kind of like his style.

Salute! r

So few words, but they say it all. Thank you for posting this.