Gay Sailor Returns to Duty at Base
MOFFETT FIELD NAVAL AIR STATION, Calif. — Keith Meinhold, kicked out of the Navy after revealing that he is gay, reclaimed his job as a sonar instructor Thursday under court order.
“This is the day I’ve looked forward to,” Meinhold said as he walked onto the military base, carrying his uniform in a paper bag. “I’ll be proud and honored to wear the uniform of my country again.”
Meinhold was honorably discharged in August after giving a national TV interview in which he said he is gay. He said Thursday that many of his former superiors and co-workers at Moffett knew for several years that he is homosexual.
Moffett spokesman John Shackleton said Meinhold’s duties with Patrol Squadron 31 will be the same as before he was discharged.
U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. of Los Angeles ordered the Navy to reinstate Meinhold pending resolution of his lawsuit challenging the military’s ban on gays and lesbians.
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