Navy Honors Two Harveys: One Medal of Honor Recipient. One Homosexual.
Update: Now covered at the Stars and Stripes, CNN, and the Christian Science Monitor.
A Tale of Two Harveys: Harvey Barnum (L), Harvey Milk (R)
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that a destroyer would be named after retired US Marine Corps Colonel and Medal of Honor recipient Harvey Barnum.
In December 1965, then-Lieutenant Barnum was an artillery forward observer when he took command of a company under fire that had lost its commander:
He immediately assumed command of the rifle company…, and moving at once into the midst of the heavy fire, rallying and giving encouragement to all units, reorganized them to replace the loss of key personnel and led their attack on enemy positions from which deadly fire continued to come.
His sound and swift decisions and his obvious calm served to stabilize the badly decimated units and his gallant example as he stood exposed repeatedly to point out targets served as an inspiration to all.
After years of requests, the Navy is reportedly ready to name a vessel after Harvey Milk:
The…notification, signed by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, indicated he intended to name a planned Military Sealift Command fleet oiler USNS Harvey Milk (T-AO-206).
The ship would be in the “John Lewis class.” John Lewis was a congressman from Georgia described as a civil rights activist, and the Navy has said ships in that class would be named after similarly motivated individuals.
Milk was an open homosexual who was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. (He had served briefly in the Navy in the 1950s.) He and the mayor were killed by a disgruntled fellow Supervisor just under a year later. After his death, Milk became a veritable martyr for the homosexual movement — despite the fact he was killed in an incident of “workplace violence” that had nothing to do with his sexuality. (Meanwhile, the Mayor was forgotten.)
Harvey Barnum was honored by the Navy for his bravery, valor, and honor.
Harvey Milk is set to be honored by the Navy because of his sexuality.
While the Navy can name ships for whomever it wants, some might suggest that using the naming honor as a celebration of sexual behavior might diminish it as a means of celebrating sacrifices and acts of honor and courage.
To the obvious question: The US Navy has named vessels for men of religious faith — but not because of their religious faith. For example, a list of vessels named for Catholic chaplains notes some substantial acts of valor and bravery on their parts, sometimes resulting in their death in battle — acts truly worthy of honor, not just because of their faith.
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