Then came the war and I was inducted into the army with the National Guard. I was at first very careful, but I found that one's passions. must be satisfied in some way and, I suppose, grew somewhat careless. During a homosexual purge it fell to me to serve as a reporter at a trial of some thirty officers and enlisted men, quite a few of whom I had known, but not one of these mentioned my name. And then a man, with whom I had had absolutely no contact but who knew of my contacts with others, stated that I had seduced and practically raped him. He gave the names of several of those already convicted who, when questioned, were forced to admit having had relations with me. I, too, was tried, and although at my trial I proved by the sworn testimony of a full colonel and others that at the time I was alleged to have been having the affair of which accused, I was actually working in the colonel's Office. Still I was convicted, dishonorably discharged, and sentenced to five years' hard labor. The trial took place in my hometown! Many friends, some of whom knew and some who didn't, tried to come to my aid, but without avail. Two United States senators plead unsuccessfully for a review. I went to Fort Leavenworth and tried to die.

The prison chaplain, God bless his soul, gave me back a will to live, and with his help, I was able to help others. The prison psychiatrist was, himself, gay, and had had affairs with several inmates. As I rejected his advances he became persuaded that I was not gay and that my conviction was a mistake. Of course, the charge upon which I had been convicted became general knowledge among the prison inmates and I was forced to allow myself to be "adopted" by a pair of the inmates who, while using me at will for their own satisfaction, protected

one

me from the inmates at large. This is one of the horrors of prison life. One young chap I knew was raped at knife point by fourteen men and was hospitalized with a ruptured

anus.

After two years of my sentence I was offered a chance at rehabilitation; I accepted and, after a period of several months in which I had been given much more freedom, I was restored to duty and my dishonorable discharge erased. During this period of comparative freedom I was able to have several affairs and I learned that homosexual practices were rife among those who were permitted more freedom than the general run of inmates.

After a time, during which I served at various posts including one where I was a chaplain's assistant and which I enjoyed very much, I was discharged and was given an honorable discharge which, however, showed a certain number of days "lost under A.W. 104"-the provisions under which I had been offered and accepted rehabilitation. I had been offered, and could have accepted, parolee status over a full year prior to my release for rehabilitation.

After my discharge I found that the date of my original enlistment in the National Guard had been misstated and I very foolishly sent my discharge back to the War Department for "correction of the typographical error in the date." What was returned to me was an executed dishonorable discharge plus a "limited" (not recommended for reenlistment) discharge covering my tour of duty subsequent to restoration to duty. My congressmen fought for three years to have this perfidious action withdrawn, but the noble War Department blandly stated that a dishonorable discharge was not subject to review.

For over a year then I worked for the Navy Department in Wash-

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