May 1, 2024

A TRIBUTE TO JOHN H. DALTON, 

70th  SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF NAVY 

In December 1992 I was asked by advisers to the new Bill Clinton Administration transition team to tell my story as a former gay Marine Corps veteran. I was a GS–11 Navy civilian employee with a secret clearance at the Point Mugu Navy Base in Ventura County, California. I did feature Interviews in the Los Angeles Times, Oxnard Press Courier and local TV stations. I wanted to help President-Elect Bill Clinton keep his campaign promise to lift the ban on gays in the military.

The Navy retaliated against me. I received a mutilated alligator dol with a broken condom at work that was made for me because my nickname is Gator. This symbol of anti-gay harassment was  created by a Marine Lance Corporal at my Navy base. Later, I was assaulted by two Marines at a retirement party for the Colonel at our base. The Navy put me on the unfunded list and tried to end my 11 year career.

The ACLU represented me in several forms of litigation against the Department of the Navy. The New York Times reported that the U.S. Office of Special Counsel conducted an investigation of alleged discrimination at the Navy Base. Our case won a partial victory but I was not satisfied because I wanted sexual orientation added to the Navy’s Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy. 

Our case became a national news story as my color picture was printed in Time Magazine. I wore my  Marine Corps uniform at the 1993 March On Washington. I was the second person introduced onstage before one million people. The Commandant of the Marine Corps saw me on C-SPAN TV  wearing the Marine Corps uniform and became outraged. The next day he called the Marine Aviation Detachment at Point Mugu Navy Base trying to get me fired.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff late General Colin Powell and I both spoke in person to the editorial board of The Christian Science Monitor newspaper  in Boston. I outperformed General Powel. The newspaper agreed with me and published an editorial supporting that the military ban against gays be lifted. 

I was placed on unpaid leave for several months and my HIV viral load collapsed to the point that I was near death. I wondered why the White House did nothing to help me. I became very depressed.

The ACLU continued to represent me and we accumulated medical evidence that required the Navy to return me to work and rehabilitate me from my fears and anxiety.  This medical evidence proved that LGBTQ are capable of working for the Navy, and that they are not a threat to national security.  The Navy hired their own psychiatrist to challenge our evidence. However, the Navy doctor wrote  a report agreeing with our evidence. This forced the Navy to enter into settlement discussions with the ACLU to avoid a trial

Navy Secretary John Dalton made the decision in May 1994 to add sexual orientation protection to the Navy’s EEO Policy. The Navy told the ACLU that we should file an EEO complaint against the Navy. We did and the Navy agreed that I deserved compensation in May 1994 just days after John Dalton issued the new EEO Policy. I agreed to keep the terms and conditions of my settlement confidential. 

I was interviewed by Navy Times newspaper about John Dalton’s heroic achievement. John Dalton added sexual orientation protection for Navy civilian  workers more than four years before President Bill Clinton signed an Executive Order providing this protection for the other branches of the military service.

In 1996 I was honored as co-grand marshal of the Washington DC LGBTQ Pride Parade. I received the below award from Navy GLOBE. I have published two books that talk about John Dalton. 

I presented an award from AMVETS to John Dalton in Washington DC several years ago. Secretary Dalton also presented me with a Leadership Award. We are both devout Christians and Secretary Dalton describes his faith in his book titled “At the Helm.” John Dalton is a courageous and compassionate person who did something historic and special thirty years ago to advance civil rights in our country. 

Below is a picture of me with John  Dalton using the camera he purchased for me. Also, the new EEO Policy that settled my ACLU case. There is the Navy Time story about me and John Dalton. Finally, there is an image of the award Secretary Dalton presented to me. 

I proudly salute John H. Dalton, the best Navy Secretary in our nation’s history.

Tom Swan Hernandez

Founder and Commander

AMVETS Post 66

Palm Springs, CA.

www.TomSwannHernandez.com

https://www.gayveterans.us

https://www.lgbtqveteransmemorial.com

https://www.amvetspost66.org/