and he didn t much care. lloyd knew what mattered. he knew what had kept him alive, what made it possible for him to come home and start a family and live the rest of his life. it was his friend. and lloyd s son is with us today. and he knew that valor and sacrifice are no more limited by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender or by religion or by creed. what made it possible for him to survive the battlefields of europe is the reason that we are here today. that s the reason we are here today. the president encouraged gay americans to enlist, encouraged the 14,000 plus discharged under don t ask, don t tell to return and spoke specifically to the current generation of gay
the president encouraged gay americans to enlist, encouraged the 14,000 plus discharged under don t ask, don t tell to return and spoke specifically to the current generation of gay service members. the last generation to serve in fear. as the first generation to serve openly in our armed forces, you will stand for all those who came before you, and you will serve as role models to all who come after. and i know that you will fulfill this responsibility with integrity and honor just as you have every other mission with which you ve been charged. and you need to look no further than the servicemen and women in this room, distinguished officers like former navy commander zoe dunning. marines, marines like eric alva, one of the first to be in iraq.
today. the president encouraged gay americans to enlist, encouraged the 14,000 plus discharged under don t ask, don t tell to return and spoke specifically to the current generation of gay service members. the last generation to serve in fear. as the first generation to serve openly in our armed forces, you will stand for all those who came before you, and you will serve as role models to all who come after. and i know that you will fulfill this responsibility with integrity and honor just as you have every other mission with which you ve been charged. and you need to look no further than the servicemen and women in this room, distinguished officers like former navy commander zoe dunning.