Perverts by
Official Order:
The Campaign Against
Homosexuals
by the United States Navy
Other books by Lawrence R. Murphy
Indian Agent in New Mexico (Santa Fe, 1967)
Out in Gods Country: A History of Colfax County, New Mexico (Springer, N.M., 1969)
Philmont: A History of New Mexicos Cimarron Country (Albuquerque, 1972)
Frontier Crusader: William F. M. Amy (Tucson, 1973)
The Slave Narratives of Texas (with Ron C. Tyler) (Austin, 1974)
Anti-Slavery in the Southwest (El Paso, 1978)
The World of John Muir (with Dan Collins) (Stockton, 1981)
Lucien Bonaparte Maxwell: The Napoleon of the Southwest (Norman, OK, 1983)
The American University in Cairo: 1919-1987 (Cairo, Egypt, 1987)
Perverts by
Official Order:
The Campaign Against
Homosexuals
by the
United States Navy
Lawrence R. Murphy
Harrington Park Press
New York London
ISBN 0-918393-44-2
Published by
Harrington Park Press, Inc., 12 West 32 Street, New York, New York 10001
EUROSPAN/Harrington, 3 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8LU England
Harrington Park Press, Inc., is a subsidiary of The Haworth Press, Inc., 12 West 32 Street, New York, New York 10001.
1988 by Harrington Park Park Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilm and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from The Haworth Press, Inc., 12 West 32 Street, New York, New York 10001. Printed in the United States of America.
Cover design by Marshall Andrews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Murphy, Lawrence R., 1942-1987
Perverts by official order.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. United States. Navy Gays. 2. Trials (Sodomy) Rhode Island Newport History. 3. Gays United States History 20th century. 4. Newport (R.I.) History. I. Title.
VB324.G38M87 1988 359.00880664 87-33452
SBN 0-918393-44-2
Publishers Note.
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this book but points out that some imperfections from the original may be apparent.
FOR RUSSELL
without whose love, support, and assistance
this book could not have been completed
CONTENTS
Russell Len Griffin
ILLUSTRATIONS
Lawrence R. Murphy
Lawrence R. Murphy
1942-1987
Unhappily, I have been asked to write a personal message for Perverts By Official Order: The Campaign Against Homosexuals by the United States Navy. I wish I did not have to do so. I have been associated with this book from the beginning. I saw the first cursory inquiry into this long-forgotten scandal. I assisted with the research, witnessed the writing, and finally helped ready the manuscript for publication.
The manuscript was finished in 1983, but Larry could not find a publisher willing or able to accept it. Finally in 1986, The Haworth Press, and its imprint, Harrington Park Press, directed by publisher Bill Cohen, accepted the work for publication. It was and is a courageous act.
What emerges from this book is a sordid story. Not sordid because of the vivid descriptions of men together, nor the lifestyles of many in this book, it is sordid because of the actions of the United States Government. Here is the whole range of civil rights violations: mail covers and interceptions, eavesdropping, wiretapping, illegal searches and seizures, entrapment, and third degree coercion. Added to this must be the duplicity of United States governmental officials at the highest levels, including a future President of the United States. However, worst of all was the needless and cruel destruction of many lives. If no one remembers what happened in Newport in 1919 it could happen again.
Larry did not live to see the final act of publication. On September 26, 1987, a condition he had since his youth ended his life. After thirteen glorious and happy years our life together was over. In those first dark hours, days, and weeks I came to the realization that this book was his testament for freedom; his personal statement that all people must be free to live without shame or fear and that gays must not be denied their rights. It is in this spirit that I hope the book will be read.
Russell Len Griffin
Persecution is as old as civilization itself. People have been attacked, discriminated against, imprisoned and even killed by other humans because of religion, race, sex, ethnic background, or political belief. Toleration may be the exception rather than the rule. Even more grievous, nearly every government has been guilty of oppressing or at least tolerating the maltreatment of some group of its citizens. The powers of police, armies, courts, and civil officials have all too often been utilized to rid society of unwanted persons or to assure their relegation to second-class status.
Subjective considerations arise because what is clearly victimization to some people (especially those being attacked) becomes legitimate law enforcement or societal purification to others. The leaders of colonial America had no difficulty justifying the execution of Quakers, Catholics, or alleged witches for unacceptable beliefs or activities. Some Nazi Germans doubtless believed that the extermination of Jews, Gypsies, or homosexuals was necessary to preserve and strengthen their society. In the American West, the destruction of Native Americans was defended as progressive and civilizing. Even today, the incarceration or execution of individuals with unpopular political, religious, or social beliefs finds supporters in many nations of the world.
Only recently has the widespread persecution of individuals because of their personal sexual preference been openly discussed. For too long, gays considered themselves as the guilty and sometimes even justified persecution as morally or socially desirable. Few homosexuals were sufficiently self-confident or assertive to defend their sexual orientation and to denounce their persecutors malevolence. Reticence has slowly diminished as gays have developed more positive self-images, become proud of themselves and their communities, and begun to explore their history. Gay roots differ from those of blacks, Native Americans, or Jews, but discovering and understanding them is no less important in enhancing gay identity and teaching about their heritage.
The United States governments systematic entrapment of homosexuals after World War I constitutes a significant but largely forgotten chapter in the long story of persecution. The government employed sailors to entrap military men and civilians, employing deceit and feigning sexual endearment to collect evidence. Sailors charged with being gay faced months of solitary confinement and trials in which they were denied fundamental constitutional rights. Many were convicted on the flimsiest circumstantial evidence. Only the refusal of civilian judges and juries to accept spurious government testimony saved dozens of non-sailors from similar fates. Even for them, notoriety stemming from the scandal undoubtedly ruined the lives of numerous victims. When publicity about the navys anti-gay crusade threatened the careers of senior officials, especially Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the government manipulated the military justice system to spare its leaders and embarrass its critics. Never was adequate punishment meted out to those who perpetrated the campaign. To this day the stain of court-martial, a prison record, and dishonorable discharges remains on the records of the victims of government persecution.
