Word: pecks
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...drama was set in motion by a seemingly innocuous message, sent to Washington from Mogadishu. Colonel Peck had taken a break from his duties as chief spokesman for the U.S. military forces in Somalia to write the Senate Armed Services Committee with a request to testify in favor of the military ban on gays. When Scott learned of the pending appearance, he feared disaster. During the past year, while studying journalism at the University of Maryland, he had written several articles for a student publication, the Retriever, that, he says, "left no doubt that I was gay." Scott was afraid...
...years of obfuscations and lies. "My dad found no moral problems with my being gay," says Scott. "He believes, as I do, it is a genetic factor, unchangeable, and not a matter for moral condemnation." By the time they hung up, their relationship, which had been shaky ever since Peck and Scott's mother divorced in the 1970s, was stronger than ever before. "I've been dealing with some stereotypes about Marines," Scott admits. "After hearing his response, I wish I'd talked to him 10 years...
...next day the colonel faced the Senate committee, armed with knowledge of his son's homosexuality, a fact that both Peck men agreed should be made public. His fingers laced tightly and wearing what Scott calls "his nervous face," the colonel testified, "My son Scott is a homosexual, and I don't think there's any place for him in the military." In a single breath, he added, "I love him as much as I do any of my sons. I respect him. I think he's a fine person. But he should not serve...
...father's pain was evident as he expressed a personal concern for his son's safety. "He'd be in grave risk," he said. "I would be very fearful that his life would be in jeopardy from his own troops." Peck seemed far less disturbed, however, by the prospect of a breakdown of military discipline so thorough that a soldier's life might be endangered by deliberate friendly fire. "I'm not saying that that's right or wrong. I'm telling you that's the way it is," he said. "Fratricide is something that exists out there...
...Peck's personalizing of the debate was a touching surprise in what many critics saw as an orchestrated compromise on the gay-ban issue conducted by committee chairman Sam Nunn. "It's Nunn's dog-and-pony show," says Lieut. (j.g.) Tracy Thorne, a "Top Gun" navy bombardier who is being removed from active duty because of his homosexuality. "He's got the witness list totally skewed against those who want to lift the ban." When the Senate panel | toured the Norfolk (Virginia) Naval Base last week to hear from the rank and file, 15 of the 17 witnesses supported...