'Gay' sergeant takes stand

HAMPTON, Va. (A) T. Sgt. Leonard P. Matlovich, an admitted homosexual, pleaded with an Air Force discharge board yesterday to let him stay in the service.

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He said he would not have chosen to be a homosexual.

“I would never have chosen this life-style. But I don't have that choice. I have to live with myself," the 32-year-old Air Force man with 12 years' service told the board.

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Matlovich's appearance on the witness stand climaxed the second day of the hearing, in which he is. challenging the Air Force regulation requiring automatic discharge of homosexuals.

Earlier, the governarent had sought and won the removal of two members of the five-officer panel charged with deciding the case, claiming they could not be fair and impartial judges.