DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY

I am completely baffled by all the uproar about gays in the military (“Conduct Unbecoming,” by Randy Shilts, April 25). They’ve been there for hundreds of years, and by no means were Rome, the United States and England known for having wimpy armies.

Julius Caesar’s legions were said to have affectionately called their leader “every woman’s husband and every man’s wife.” The leader of the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionhearted, King of England, was a documented homosexual. And those Roman legions who conquered an empire and the awesome English crusaders were certainly not a demoralized, limp-wristed lot.

Yet, as our laws stand now, we would deprive our military of much talent and perhaps even genius. What a waste!

CLARENCE B. SANTOS

Adelanto