‘Serving in Secret’ Delves into the History of Gays in the Military
metroweekly.comServing in Secret.The documentary, a co-production of MSNBC Films and TIME Studios, is one of several films in Trevor Noah’s documentary series “The Turning Point,” a collection that examines hot-button issues in the United States.
Serving in Secret focuses on the historical prohibitions put in place to prevent gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals from serving in the U.S.
military.For Baker, the connection to the ban on open military service is personal, with his biological uncle, Tom Carpenter, a San Diego-based retired U.S.
Marine, serving as the viewer’s introduction to the larger topic.Carpenter, now 75, was forced to conceal his relationship with his now-deceased longtime partner, Naval flight officer Courtland Hirschi, at a time when homosexuality was not only prohibited in the military ranks but criminalized under many state laws.Using Carpenter and Hirschi’s clandestine relationship as the jumping-off point, Baker examines the historical context of gay men in the Armed Services, the fear they had of being outed and forcibly discharged from the military, the so-called “compromise” that led to the adoption of the now-defunct “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of the 1990s and early 2000s, and the eventual repeal of that policy, which Carpenter later advocated for after retiring from the Marines.“When Uncle Tom finished [working on] repeal, I kept saying, ‘You’ve got to write your memoir because people need to hear this story,’ Baker says. “I thought it was very inspirational.
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