Dignitaries visit LGBTQ Veterans Memorial
Dignitaries visited the Coachella Valley Wednesday to see the country’s first LGBTQ Veterans Memorial.
“It’s the only monument dedicated to gays and lesbians and transgenders who gave their lives on the battlefields of war,” said World War II veteran Daryl James.
“We had a battle to get it going,” James said of the monument.
Today, James gathered with others at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City to visit the LGBTQ Veterans Memorial.
California Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Vito Imbasciani was at the event.
Imbasciani proudly served as a surgeon in the U.S. Army for 28 years but says he had to hide his sexual orientation while serving like so many others.
“And a lot of these people served in World War II, Vietnam, Korea,” he said.
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California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill making this monument the state’s official LGBTQ Veterans Memorial. The legislation was authored by Assembly member Eduardo Garcia, of Coachella.
“It’s really a great opportunity for us to say, ‘Thank you’ to the men and women who have fought for this country, especially those from our LGBTQ community,” he said.
