Military gays face harsh treatment: July 2, 1975.

While we talk to gay veterans of World War II in the current issue, 29 years ago gays in the military were the subject of The Advocate's first special report, in which a collection of articles addressed a host of concerns.

At the time, the American Civil Liberties Union suggested that a dramatic decrease in undesirable discharges for "sexual perversion" meant that gay soldiers had better odds fighting for honorable status through the military system than through the civilian courts. Still, many gay soldiers were pressured to expose other gays while facing threats and violence before being discharged. If released prior to mid 1974, honorably or otherwise, veterans were assigned a Separation Program Number: SPN 46D meant "unsuitability--sexual deviate," which made future employment difficult.