The Naked Gunner
Actually, in one of nine universes, he was The Naked Gay Gunner.
Why does this matter? Why would we pause to wonder aloud what cannot be answered or make a collage that imagines rather than confirms?
What we do know is that he was a young man, courageous, a man who did not abandon his post. He’s remembered as a hero — an anonymous stand-in for the very best of the American soldier.
Based on population statistics, there was a one in nine possibility that he was gay. That’s a fact.
And this is a real photograph. I’ve embellished it with collage elements to make one point: gay men can be brave, the same as straight men.
We live in a country that still questions the manliness of gay men, their fitness for military service, to the point of testosterone testing.
The hero in this frame could be straight.
Could be.
We know he was brave. And maybe gay.
