The Erasure of Queer Military History
Since the start of Trump’s second term, attempts to erase LGBTQ+ contributions from U.S. history have gained momentum. From scrubbing references to gay, lesbian, and trans service members on government websites to renaming the USNS Harvey Milk, the effort has been clear: rewrite military history without acknowledging queer people.
But the truth is unavoidable. LGBTQ+ people have always been part of the armed forces, and during World War II, their presence and contributions were undeniable.
Queer Life in the Barracks
In the Army, Navy, and Marines, men formed deeply intimate bonds with one another. Some soldiers discovered their sexuality for the first time in the service.
- Author Gore Vidal, who served in the Army Air Corps, openly admitted that wartime life exposed him to same-sex experiences. “It all started in Colorado,” he recalled. “There were lots of men willing to turn a trick.”
- One Marine told oral historian Studs Terkel that he enlisted partly because he was gay and wanted to prove his toughness. Despite the Corps’ macho reputation, he found it strangely erotic: “A great deal of homosexuality was expressed in the barracks.”
This mix of repression, desire, and brotherhood created what many described as a homoerotic culture within the military. Soldiers would share beds, exchange physical affection, and sometimes engage in explicitly sexual encounters—all in the backdrop of war.
Women in Uniform: Lesbian Presence in WWII
Queer women were just as present. Sergeant “Johnnie” Phelps of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) estimated that 95% of her battalion were lesbians. For many women, military service offered a rare opportunity to live closely with other women outside the scrutiny of family and traditional society.
The war years gave lesbians and bisexual women the chance to form deep romantic and sexual relationships that might not have been possible in civilian life.
How Many LGBTQ+ People Served?
Historian Allan Bérubé, in Coming Out Under Fire, noted that according to Kinsey’s wartime research, as many as 1.6 million male soldiers in WWII were homosexual.
Despite military screening questions about sexuality, countless queer recruits still entered the services. Officials knew they couldn’t possibly discharge all of them, so LGBTQ+ troops were tolerated so long as they remained discreet.
The Queer Heroes of World War II
Some of the most impactful figures of WWII were LGBTQ+:
- Alan Turing, the British mathematician who cracked the Nazi Enigma code, arguably shortened the war by years and saved millions of lives.
- Ian Sneed, a gay fighter pilot, played a crucial role in the Battle of Britain.
- In the U.S., stars like Rock Hudson and author John Cheever served while hiding their sexuality.
Later, veterans like Frank Kameny would become pioneers of the gay rights movement after being unjustly fired from government service.
Brotherhood, Love, and Survival
For many soldiers, survival wasn’t about patriotism, but about not letting down their fellow servicemen. As WWII memoirist E.B. Sledge put it: “The only thing that kept you going was your faith in your buddies.”
This bond, whether platonic, romantic, or sexual, was central to military life. To erase that from history is not just dishonest, it’s impossible.
Why Queer Military History Matters
The attempt to whitewash LGBTQ+ contributions to WWII ignores a fundamental truth: queer people fought, sacrificed, and helped win the war. From codebreakers to combat troops, they shaped history.
Efforts to erase them now only underscore the importance of telling these stories openly. Without queer and trans service members, our military history and perhaps our freedom would look very different.
