Memorial Day and Don't Ask Don't Tell

Way back in the day I went through a phase of attending the dawn ceremony for ANZAC Day - Memorial Day is almost the equivalent of ANZAC Day but I don't feel quite the same about it (for obvious reasons).  When I briefly lived in San Fran I did attend one ANZAC Day Service, it wasn't at dawn so didn't have quite the same feel about it.  Still April 25 never passes me by without a thought, and neither does Memorial Day - take the girl outta the Army but not the Army outta the girl.
This year I have been privileged to have met someone who is not only an ex.service member but is a key figure in the fight against Don't Ask Don't Tell.  I have mentioned Zoe before.  In a huge victory for gay and lesbian service members, and as a testament to the hard work of people like Zoe, the House of Representatives voted, on Thursday May 27, to Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell.  In quite a remarkable turn of events for me it so happened that on the day I had my work laptop open and Zoe instant messaged me to tell me the House was about to vote, I got online and was able to watch the vote live.  I felt nervous as I watched the yay and nay votes tally......can't imagine how people like Zoe felt.  A chunk of the Museum is dedicated to gays and lesbians who have served and there are a number of biographical books in there as well.  While I am not yet a US citizen and have never served with the US forces I do support the right of gays and lesbians to serve openly (well jeeze, while in the early days I never really overtly had that right and went quietly about my business it was a compromise that was never sustainable and I quietly celebrated as the NZ Armed Services let go of a law that had no place being there in the first place!).  So while today is mainly about those who have fallen, I think it is also about those who have continued to fight, within their own ranks, for what is right (I am not going to argue the merits of whether or not there should be Armed Services at all, that is an entirely different debate).  The fight isn't over yet but it is, for me, quite startling to find myself sitting next to someone at the center of the debate and to hear first hand how passionate and committed people are to making things right.....