Photographs and Interviews by Vincent Cianni

Text by Alison Nordstrom, Don Bramer, and Alan Steinman

Through compelling photographs and interviews made over three years on road trips across the US, Vincent Cianni (born 1952) has created an important historical record of the struggles of gay and lesbian veterans and servicemembers in the US military. As the Human Rights Commission attests, the US military has a long history of civil rights abuses against homosexuals, with harassment and discrimination frequently resulting in lost careers.

In many cases, these men and women—highly skilled, well-educated, patriotic, courageous, and productive—had attained high rank, received numerous medals, and held top-level jobs essential to the military. With essays by Alison Nordstrom, Don Bramer and Alan Steinman shedding light on the cultural, personal, and political consequences of the ban on homosexuality, this volume tells the stories of men and women who served in silence, and oftentimes were penalized and prohibited from receiving the benefits accorded them for serving in the military.

"Begun while “don’t ask, don’t tell” was still in place, the project [Gays in the Military] is an apt coda to an experience marked by an evolution from darkness to light. And the shadows and exposures of photography make it the ideal medium to give visibility and humanity to the sacrifices of gays and lesbians in uniform….with an eye toward history, [Cianni] helps give gays and lesbians who valiantly served, their day in the sun.”
~ Nathaniel Frank, New York Times, March 8, 2014

”The photos and interviews, as well as the essays bring these heroes to life, Their stories are heart wrenching. No military person should have to suffer in silence as these brave people did. Vincent Cianni did a noble service in bringing to light the discrimination and how it destroyed careers and lives of those who wanted to serve our country.”
~ Anonymous, Amazon