In Memoriam: (Black and Gay) Major Alan Rogers

TerranceDC has a great post over at Pam's House Blend about Major Alan Rogers, a Black gay soldier who was killed in Iraq on January 27, 2008 at the age of 40. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for sacrificing his life to save two of his fellow soldiers and his funeral occurred in March right before the the 5-year Iraq War milestone.

Somehow I had originally missed the earlier controversy over how the sexual orientation of Rogers was reported (or not reported) in the mainstream media. The Washington Post ombudman wrote an article on March 30 discussing her paper's coverage of the Rogers story.

For The Post, Rogers's death raised an unanswerable question: Would he have wanted to be identified as gay? Friends also struggled with that question but decided to tell The Post that he was because, they said, he wanted the military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule repealed. Yet a cousin and a close friend felt that his sexual orientation was not important; his immediate family members are deceased.

The Post story would have made any soldier proud. It quoted his commanding officer: "As God would have it . . . he shielded two men who probably would have been killed if Alan had not been there." Rogers was "an exceptional, brilliant person -- just well-spoken and instantly could relate to anyone."

[...]

Shay Hill, his beneficiary and University of Florida roommate, said that he and Rogers were "like brothers" and that he knew Rogers was gay. "He worked to change the system from within. You don't out yourself to make a point. Just because he's gay should have no more relevance than I'm straight. It's not fair to make a bigger deal out of this than it needs to be."

Other friends felt differently. James A. "Tony" Smith of Alexandria, an Air Force veteran, knew Rogers through AVER. He said that Rogers "was very open about being gay. It was a major part of his life. It does a disservice to his memory" not to mention it.

Rogers abided by "don't ask, don't tell" only because "he wanted to stay a soldier," Smith said. "He was first and foremost a soldier, and he loved serving his country." Rogers's ties to the veterans group were "widely and publicly known." Austin Rooke, Rogers's friend and a former Army captain, said, "He was among the most open active-duty military people I've ever met. I can't imagine him not wanting people to know."

[...]

The Post was right to be cautious, but there was enough evidence -- particularly of Rogers's feelings about "don't ask, don't tell" -- to warrant quoting his friends and adding that dimension to the story of his life. The story would have been richer for it.

If someone who was obviously this out that this many people knew about his sexual orientation (hello, 40 years old in the military and "unmarried and childless"!) dies in a newsworthy fashion what will it take to get the media to report fairly about the sexual orientation of someone who where the issue was not so clear cut.

Anyway, today on Memorial Day, I want to take a few minutes to remember Alan G. Rogers, a Black, gay American war hero.