The USNS Harvey Milk, the first Navy ship named in honor of an LGBTQ rights leader, was christened and launched in San Diego on Saturday. https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1457077715882975234 MIlk, who served for four years in the Navy during the Korean War before being forced out, was one of the first openly gay candidates elected to public office. He was serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978 when Dan White assassinated him and Mayor George Moscone at City Hall. More from ABC News:
Milk’s nephew, Stuart Milk, and Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro watched the traditional ceremony.
“The secretary of the Navy needed to be here today, not just to amend the wrongs of the past, but to give inspiration to all of our LGBTQ community leaders who served in the Navy, in uniform today and in the civilian workforce as well too, and to tell them that we’re committed to them in the future,” Del Toro said.
Del Toro said that, like many others, Milk had to “mask that very important part of his life” while he served in the Navy.
“For far too long, sailors like Lt. Milk were forced into the shadows or, worse yet, forced out of our beloved Navy,” Del Toro said. “That injustice is part of our Navy history, but so is the perseverance of all who continue to serve in the face of injustice.”
Check out the christening festivities in the video below as well as lots of photos from Milk’s far-too-short life. https://youtu.be/AcNevEJyOv4 https://twitter.com/starsandstripes/status/1457071788949745671 https://twitter.com/MayorToddGloria/status/1457057931568971781
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