Wounded ex-Marine now fighting a two-front war

Web Posted: 07/05/2009 12:00 CDT
Wounded ex-Marine now fighting a two-front war

By Sig Christenson - Express-News
Eric Alva lived and breathed the Marine Corps for 13 years. Then he earned a dubious slice of American history by becoming the first GI injured in the Iraq invasion in 2003. He stepped on a mine three hours after rolling into Iraq, breaking both legs, suffering a badly mangled right arm and being filled with shrapnel from torso to his legs.

The picture-perfect Marine, who later lost part of his right leg and still carries 27 pieces of shrapnel, has evolved from a war hero photographed with President George W. Bush to one of the nation's prominent gay activists after coming out on ABC's “Good Morning America” on Feb. 27, 2007.

Now he advocates for gays to serve openly in the armed forces, a battle that heated up since a recent Supreme Court decision.

He marked July 4th by participating in San Antonio's Gay Pride parade and has spoken on dozens of college campuses. For him, a true Independence Day would see gays, lesbians and bisexuals allowed to openly serve in the armed forces — to be treated with the same dignity and respect of their straight comrades, rather than hiding in plain sight.

Alva, a 38-year-old San Antonio native, finds himself fighting a two-front war — one to maintain his health, and the other for gays who still conceal the truth about their sexual orientation from comrades and commanders.

He's got a home and devoted partner, but the war never is far away.
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Wounded ex-Marine now fighting a two-front war

I often wonder what the troops from other nations think of us when they have gay people serving side by side but the US doesn't want them serving and kicks them out no matter how long they've been in, how good they are, how trained they are, or how much they are liked by those they serve with.