- Marine Cpl. Danny Hernandez
When I posted a letter here yesterday from Marine Lance Cpl. Danny Hernandez to President Barack Obama, I had no idea that Hernandez was a Texan.
Hernandez contacted me this morning to say, “Thanks for the post — and oh, by the way, I’m from Paradise (a town of 400 northwest of Fort Worth near Decatur).”
The 22-year-old Hernandez, discharged from the Marines nine weeks ago for being gay, graduated from Paradise High School and then from Texas A&M University last year. His letter was part of a Servicemembers Legal Defense Network campaign aimed at repealing DADT.
But here’s the kicker: Hernandez said the letter also served his big coming out.
“A lot of my friends called yesterday in shock, because it’s just something I haven’t really mentioned to anyone,” said Hernandez, who’s currently completing a fellowship in marketing and communications for a nonprofit in Washington, D.C.
“I was very hesitant,” he said of publishing the letter, originally intended for his personal blog, “but the more I talked to people the more I realized it is something important and something I wanted to do. Literally at the end of the day, it was just something I could step back from and say, ‘That was the right thing to do.’ And I’m comfortable with the decision I made to have that published.
“Yesterday provided a lot of growth. I’m not 100 percent comfortable with everything, but I’m a lot closer than I ever was. I think that’s the most important thing that came from yesterday, being comfortable in my own skin.”
Even though many of Hernandez’s friends now know about his sexual orientation, his parents and family still don’t. He said he plans to talk to his parents tonight. His younger brother, 18, is an active-duty Marine based in California.
“I think that’s going to be one of the hard things, to confront him,” Hernandez said. “I think they’ll be supportive for the most part.”
Hernandez went to boot camp after his sophomore year at A&M, where he also spent four years in ROTC. He returned to Texas to complete college as a Reserve, with his unit based in Waco.
Upon graduation, he intended to enroll in Officer Candidate School. Then one night at a bar in College Station, he got into a confrontation with some other Marines he didn’t know, and he ended up admitting to them that he was gay.
Nervous they’d out him, Hernandez confided in two friends from his own unit. The friends told him not to worry, but then they proceeded to out him themselves. When he was called in by commanders one weekend during drill, he admitted to being gay.
When Hernandez moved to D.C. in January after being offered a job there, he still didn’t know what was going on with the investigation.
“I never got a letter, I never got a phone call from anybody,” he said. “Basically I kept e-mailing and calling. Finally a friend was able to find out for me, and that is the only way I found out.”
That was nine weeks ago, and Hernandez said he still hasn’t been formally notified of his discharge.
Hernandez said he plans to continue working with SLDN, but don’t expect to see him chained to the White House fence anytime soon. “I don’t know if that’s in my opinion the best way to get the message across,” he said.
But he added that he still hopes to be a Marine again someday.
“There’s no reason why I shouldn’t pursue being an officer once it’s repealed, but it’s just silly that I have to wait for that,” he said. “I have confidence that it’s going to happen, but I don’t know about a timeline.”
COMING OUT? Yeah Right, here in the land of Bible Thumpers this dude would be still sneaking around if he was here.
Oh and like none of you queers get hit on by the multitude of self-proclaimed lollipop suckers on the Dallas internet? Nawww.. or the rash of married men looking for quickies at the park who wouldn’t dare be known..
Don’t forget boys, it’s usually the ones with the most secrets that are the ones who yell and scream their dislike the most. Or should we say it’s more like loathing and self-hate cuz the’re a bunch of pussies that can’t even be true to themselves.
(…I was very hesitant,” he said of publishing the letter…) Well of course he was! I’m sure he also wondered how his bible thumping family was gonna react too when they were no longer invited to all those loving church functions.
Did anyone even bother to ask how long he’s been intimate with men? Nooooo Heaven forbid that would be too personal to find out he’s been doing it since something like 16…
Nope, instead he turns 22, joins the military, and poof, he realizes he’s queer..
WOW, what an amazing news story !!!
(…When he was called in by commanders one weekend during drill, he admitted to being gay.)
So let me get this straight the law specifically says DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL and in this case the commanders took the liberty of breaking this law by ASKING first? And this kid was stupid enough to ANSWER when he could have sued the shit otta them for ASKING?
Wow, can you say Court-marshal ?? Or am I just smarter than the average Fag ??
Several years ago I wanted to serve my country as an officer. But as the time came to commit to ROTC I realized that my orientation was not going to change. This led me to a decision: Why do I want to put my life on the line for a country that considers me vermin? So I chose not to hide who I was. I have never regretted being honest to myself. Like Lance Cpl. Hernandez I am from Wise County as well. I totally respect what he chose to do and at some point I hope to meet him, shake his hand and thank him for his desire and persistance to overcome the bigotry imposed by a minority of this country. But more importantly to me the strength he shows in living up to his own standards come what may. His battlefield is one that should not even exist but like most soldiers you fight where the enemy is confronted. Good luck Cpl.