Two Gay WW 2 Vets in VA Home Marry; Surprised By Warm Reception They Receive

Last edited Fri Feb 9, 2018, 07:02 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.npr.org/2018/02/09/583998949/two-vets-celebrate-love-if-you-came-to-see-the-bride-you-re-out-of-luck



When John Banvard, 100, met Gerard "Jerry" Nadeau, 72, in 1993, neither of them had been openly gay.

"When we met, we were sort of in the closet, and I'd never had a real relationship. Now, we've been together almost 25 years," Jerry tells John during a StoryCorps interview.

"What would it have been like if you didn't meet me?" Jerry asks John.

"I would have continued being lonely," John says. "I'd been absolutely lost."

Both are veterans, having served in World War II (John) and Vietnam (Jerry), and when they moved into the veterans home together in Chula Vista, Calif., in 2010, Jerry says people there wondered what their relationship was.

"Well, when we got married, they knew what our relationship was," Jerry says, laughing.

The couple married in 2013, and John says he was surprised by the warm reception they received. "I was expecting we'd be ridiculed, and there was very little of that," he says.

snip

Later, their achievement was affirmed by a simple introduction. "I was with you in the cafeteria, and somebody came up with their family, and they said, 'This is Gerard Nadeau, and this is his husband, John,' " Jerry recounts. "I'd never heard that before."

"Yes, that was very nice," John says.

"You've made my life complete," Jerry tells John.

"I could say the same to you," John replied. "I think we're probably as happy together as any two people you're likely to meet."

Edited to add: It makes me so happy to post something happy! Positive things are so important to keep our spirits up in today's climate.