A US Army veteran who allegedly kept his sexual orientation a secret his entire life for fear of being ostracized by loved ones chose to reveal his relationship with the love of his life in his obituary published after his death.
“I have to tell you one more thing. I have been gay all my life: in elementary school, in high school, in university and in life (…) I am sorry for not having had the courage to reveal it, indicated Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan, 85, in his own obituary published Saturday. Now that my secret is known, I will rest in peace forever.”
The octogenarian from Albany, New York, recently died from intestinal cancer that he may have contracted from his exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. the “New York Post” said on Wednesday.
But since sexual relations could be grounds for dismissal for most of his career – before it was even explicitly banned between 1982 and 1994 under the Clinton administration – the US veteran chose to keep his sexual orientation a secret, continued the American newspaper.
“I was afraid of being ostracized: by my family, my friends and my colleagues. “With the way people like me were treated, I just couldn’t do it,” the obituary reads.
And even after retirement, the man who had been decorated many times with prestigious medals by the American army would have kept the secret for fear of being dragged before the court martial, explained his nephew Joseph Ryan to the “NY Post” .
Despite this, the veteran reportedly enjoyed a 25-year “loving and caring” relationship with the love of his life, Paul Cavagnaro, who died in 1994 following a medical operation gone wrong, he divulged. in his last message.
For his part, Joseph Ryan was not surprised by his uncle’s latest confidences, published during LGBTQ+ pride month in June.
“He was quiet, but he was bold. It’s been in him all this time,” he commented, specifying that the “always cheerful” octogenarian had left a void in the family since his departure.
The colonel chose to donate his body to the Albany Medical College Anatomical Donations Program and will subsequently be cremated and buried alongside Paul Cavagnaro.
