DAVID GREENE, HOST:
Gays and lesbians have been serving openly in the United States military since 2011. The current policy, which put an end to "don't ask, don't tell," seems to be working smoothly.
Not so smooth is the process of reversing undesirable discharges for veterans who for decades before, got kicked out of the military for being gay. NPR's Quil Lawrence sent this story about a veteran's dying wish to correct his record.
QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE: Hal Faulkner is 79 years old, and he's already lived months longer than his doctors predicted.
HAL FAULKNER: I don't know what to say. It's just incredible that I'm still here.
LAWRENCE: Faulkner joined the Marines in 1953, and served in the Philippines. In 1956, he got kicked out with an undesirable discharge for being gay. His military papers said homosexual on them, quite an obstacle in the 1950s. Still, Faulkner moved on, prospered. Then, a few years ago, he got diagnosed with terminal cancer. He contacted his family about a dying wish.
MICHELLE CLARK: I'm Michelle Clark, and I'm Uncle Hal's niece.
LAWRENCE: Hal Faulkner's family knew he was gay.
CLARK: But no one in the family knew of the dishonorable discharge. And he has been carrying this societal shame with him all of these years.
LAWRENCE: Faulkner had learned that with the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," he could get his discharge corrected. But it usually takes six months. His lawyer, Anne Brooksher-Yen, says the military agreed to expedite the case.
ANNE BROOKSHER-YEN: You know, I didn't know what that was going to mean, right? I didn't know whether expedite was going to mean six weeks or six months or - and so I did have a conversation with him where I told him, you know, that we might not be able to get this done before he died.
LAWRENCE: The Marines acted on his dying request in just two weeks. Last Friday, in Florida, a small group presented Faulkner with his honorable discharge.
FAULKNER: And I didn't think that maybe I would last through all the battles that we've had, but a Marine is always a Marine.
LT. COL. JOHN GILLESPIE: Mr. Faulkner, I have a couple of gentlemen here that would like to second what you just said.
FAULKNER: Oh, my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MARINE: How you doing, sir?
FAULKNER: Hi. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MARINE: Good. Once a Marine, always a Marine.
LAWRENCE: In uniform, two young Marines handed him his upgrade papers. Air Force Lt. Col. John Gillespie, with the activist group OutServe-SLDN, read it out loud.
GILLESPIE: I'd like to present to you this letter from the chairman of the board to the commandant of the Marine Corps, with the recommendation to upgrade your DD214 to honorable. Congratulations, sir.
FAULKNER: Thank you very much.
GILLESPIE: Yes, sir. It's an honor.
LAWRENCE: Friends and family stood by, mostly in tears; including Fred Sainz, of the Human Rights Campaign. It pushed for years to allow gays in the military. Sainz hopes more veterans will get their records upgraded.
FRED SAINZ: You certainly can't right the wrong of six decades. You can make it right, going forward. And that's what happened today, and that's what we hope will come to thousands of Americans similarly situated.
LAWRENCE: Sainz reckons at least 114,000 troops got bad discharges for being gay in the years before "don't ask, don't tell." But many of them don't even know they're eligible to correct their records, and get benefits like VA health care or home loans. For Faulkner, it was never about the benefits, says his lawyer, Anne Brooksher-Yen.
BROOKSHER-YEN: It was really overwhelming, seeing Hal finally have this wrong righted. He is such a wonderful, loving man; and he served with honor in the military, and it was so important to him.
FAULKNER: I will always be a Marine. Semper fi.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MARINE: Oorah.
LAWRENCE: Quil Lawrence, NPR News.