wordwitch | When fanfic imitates life

From the Los Angeles Times:

[Lt. Jack] Reavley, who was drafted in World War II and remained in the Army Reserve, was called back to service during the Korean War. He became [Army Sgt. Bob] Claunch's commanding officer at Armed Forces Radio in Munich, Germany [in 1951].

It was love at first sight, Claunch said.

But being together was difficult. They couldn't be seen alone together without raising eyebrows or risking the scrutiny of military police. Reavley had a wife and two young daughters. Both men felt weighed down with guilt.

Troops in the unit began to notice their relationship; rumors swirled. If discovered, they could have been court-martialed. After a year of hiding, they confronted their unit.

Reavley called a meeting. He had his secretary, a lesbian who had helped conceal the couple's romance, pretend to phone headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.

"I said, if anybody has anything to say about Sgt. Claunch and Lt. Reavley's association . . . now's your chance," Reavley said.

No one said a word.

"We didn't admit guilt, and we didn't say we weren't" gay, Reavley said. "So case closed. And the rumors stopped."

Within a few months, Claunch and Reavley returned to the United States with honorable discharges.

They have lived successful lives, but old age weighs on them: when one dies, what will the other do? They chose not to marry during the brief window available to them, but - maybe - Social Security benefits, other benefits, might accrue to them if they marry, if it happens before they both die.

"Bob & Jack's 52-Year Adventure is the true self-told story about the kind of lifelong love we all hope for and the equal rights two men who are still in love will now need to survive," says the site where the DVD on their life is sold.

I had to tell you about it. I had to. With all the war-stories told by us, it is important to remember that we are telling true tales.