Discharged Aggie Tells His Story
By Vimal Patel
From the
Bryan-College Station EagleThree little words threw Aggie Danny Hernandez's life into a whirl: Are you gay?
In fall 2009, as Hernandez served as a reservist in the Marine Corps while finishing his last semester at Texas A&M, the startling inquiry came from his first sergeant in Waco when the superior got word Hernandez had told others about his sexuality.
He felt all he had worked toward slipping away. He considered lying but saw a stack of papers on the sergeant's desk, the top two appearing to be handwritten witness statements.
Hernandez answered truthfully.
Raised in Paradise, Texas, Hernandez wanted to be a Marine since he was age 14. So he enrolled at one of the nation's most military friendly schools, Texas A&M, because of its Corps of Cadets.
There, he dove into Aggiedom, serving as a Fish Camp counselor and in the Corps of Cadets. He also was in the famous Aggie Band and elite Ross Volunteer Company, the Texas governor's honor guard.
While a student, the communications and sociology double major worked in the marketing and communications department and was even an Aggieland Visitor Center tour guide, walking would-be Aggies across campus and scooting VIPs in a golf cart.
"I fell in love with the school," he said.
'I Was Scared'
He confided in cadets at Texas A&M that he was gay, and in all his time in the Corps, an issue never arose. During his junior year, he enlisted as a reservist in the Marines.
In fall 2009, he confided in two men in his reserve unit that he was gay. One told another, Hernandez said, and word spread and reached the first sergeant, and eventually commanding officer.
"I was scared," Hernandez said. "I didn't know how to answer, and I said 'yes.' He told me he knew what I had told those two other Marines, and that he had asked them to write statements on everything I had talked to them about, and they complied. They used that as credible evidence that I had in fact told somebody."
His commanding officer, Hernandez said, informed him that he would be discharged from the military.
Weeks away from graduation, he thought his career in the military was set, so he hadn't been applying for any jobs, and now, he had nowhere to go after A&M. Also, he said, his contract had stated that the Marines would pick up his student loans, so he didn't bother applying for scholarships, but now was stuck with some $15,000 in loans.
"Everything I was planning was basically crumbling during this short period of time," Hernandez said.
And he felt alone. Though he had confided in close friends that he was gay, he was far from open. He was raised a devout Catholic and was worried family members wouldn't take it well, so he didn't tell them.
After graduation, he headed to Washington, landing work at a non-profit and eventually joining the staff of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a non-profit founded to advocate for the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. He's working there now as a development assistant.
'...be faithful to me'
On April 28, nine weeks after he was discharged, Hernandez wrote a letter -- reluctantly -- that was posted on the SLDN website to President Barack Obama, who had promised as a candidate to end the policy.
He wrote of his willingness to still die for the country that wouldn't allow him to serve, of his shattered dream of being an officer, of the Marine Corps motto Semper fidelis, meaning always faithful.
"I have remained faithful to my country," he concluded. "Please be faithful to me."
He was scared again after the posting.
He still hadn't told his family, but the defense network website had 150,000 hits that day, and the letter -- part of a project titled "Stories From The Front Lines: Letters to President Barack Obama" -- was carried by several media outlets.
He called home that night. His family -- he was raised by his aunt and uncle -- took the news exceptionally well and have been supportive since, he said.
"My family's biggest disappointment they voiced was they wished I was upfront with them so they could have at least been there with me as I was going through it," Hernandez said.
This month, he was in the Senate gallery as the Senate voted 65 to 31 to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, clearing the last hurdle to repeal the policy born 17 years ago when newly-elected President Bill Clinton was caught between a campaign promise to allow gays to serve in the military and an unexpected level of opposition to the idea.
"I was sitting with SLDN board members and veterans affected by the policy. I've been involved with this movement for a few months. A lot of the people I was with were involved for 17 years," Hernandez said. "It was incredibly momentous and just very emotional."
Last week, he met Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, an advocate of repeal (the last year connected him with another powerful woman, pop star Lady Gaga, who he met in D.C. and allowed him to speak before her at a September repeal rally in Maine).
"I feel like I've grown up more this past year than I have throughout the rest of my life, and I think that's all positive," Hernandez said. "But at the same time, it is an injustice. Something that I was struggling with, something that was such a small part of my life at that point, was the reason that I lost so much of what I had worked for."
He's at a crossroads, now. Plan A is to go back into the service once a pending legal matter related to his discharge is resolved, and the policy -- which remains in effect -- ends. And Plan B is law school. He took the LSAT last month and doesn't know yet how he did.
The 23-year-old's journey is one of some 14,000 stories of discharges under the policy, according to SLDN.
"People think gay, and they think effiminate, or they think not manly, or they think crazy, radical, liberal activist, and I wouldn't really consider myself any of those things," Hernandez said. "I'm a Texan, and I'm an Aggie, and I'm just like everyone else, aside from that one aspect of my life -- that I'm gay."
Published on Sunday, December 26, 2010
Already during the last fiscal year those states dramatically cut their budgets, raised taxes, and relieved heavily on the $43 billion in federal Recovery Act funds to close those budget gaps. Over the past three fiscal years, states have closed $230 billion in budget gaps, and they done it by making significant budget cuts in education, social services and public safety, the state workforces and reduced aid to local governments. These cuts are having a disproportionate affect on the working and middle class, as services that they depend on are being either cut altogether or dramatically scaled back.
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