Amazon Category:  Gay/Lesbian/Bi Publisher: GLB Publishers ISBN-10:  187919483x Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 200 Copyright: Jan 1 2002 A memoir of the 1975 court-martial of Green Beret 1st Lieutenant Jay Hatheway for homosexual sodomy. This memoir recounts the first constitutional challenge in 1975 to Article 125 of the UCMJ, the Sodomy Statute. This case and that of Len Matlovich were folded together and became the first ones to challenge the military's ban on gays in the service. Guilty as Charged relates not only this challenge, but the horrors the military put me through as they went about their business of humiliating me before my peers. Excerpt I sat perfectly still and allowed my eyes to watch what I could see of his right hand in action. The first needle insertion was followed by the sensation of another circular motion directly behind this first, a finger on my scalp, and a second pin prick. A pattern devloped: circular motion, finger on scalp, then a pin prick. In rapid succession, a needle was inserted one after another in a ring around my head, from the right temple, across the back of my head, from the back foreward across the left temple, right, across my forehead, and back down to the original insertion. As the insertions were made across my forehead, I noticed for the first time that each of the wires was yellow and inserted under the skin in an upwards direction, about one half inch apart. The wires drooped downward from the base of the needle for about three inches to the top of my eyebrows then looped outward, away from my head and back up to the central collection ring that I had earlier observed when I entered the room.

Riviting
Riveting. This is author Jay Hatheway's story of the nation's first gay Green Beret court martial. Compelling. It happens to be a first person account, as defendent Hatheway, who survived those dark days, remembers the events surrounding the tragic injustice. Transcripts from the actual trial add immediacy to the "you are there" narration.      There is an inclination to think of Jack Nicholson's despicable character in A Few Good Men, but Guilty As Charged is especially vile in that it lays bare the military's bent for public degradation and humiliation of a gay man -- by innuendo and inference. Hatheway's chiling story just quite possibly could have been our own. The telling is painfully detailed.      Hatheway never denies to the reader that he has engaged in homosexual activities; the focus here is on the trumped up charges brought against him two decades before the Clinton compromise of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." In the military, fraternizing with subordinates is one matter of concern; sex between men -- actual or presumed -- is tantamount to treason.      Now it's Hatheway's turn, and he takes us from the cool marble of boyhood infatuation to the companionship of flesh without fatigues that also defines "Special" Forces. Except for names and places, his story could be mine -- or yours. -- Stonewall News Northwest

Midwest Book Review
Jay Hatheway served with distinction for four years in the Army as a Green Beret -- the army's elite combat force. Jay was indistinguishable from his fellow Green Beret's in training, ability, dedication, and service. But there was one difference that the military establishment could not abide and which overrode all other aspects of Jay Hatheway's military career and performance -- he was a homosexual. In Guilty As Charged: The True Story Of A Gay Beret, Jay has candidly recorded his experiences while in service, including his court-martial, and his dedicated work in behalf of lesbians and gays concerned about their civil rights as men and women serving their country through military service. Guilty As Charged clearly and persuasively details the first constitutional challenge to the prohibition against homosexuality in the armed forces. Enhanced for the reader with footnotes and index, Guilty As Charged is a welcome, articulate, and much needed contribution to the on-going national dialogue on gays in the military and the constitutional issues involved with respect to one of the last bastions of state supported, federally sponsored discrimination. Highly recommended reading, Guilty As Charged puts a human face to a hot-button social issue, and in doing so well serves the entire military community, gay or straight.      -- Midwest Book Review

Highly Recommended
Highly recommended.      The Uniform Code of Military Justice dictates that sodomy "shall be punished as a court-martial may direct." One brave soldier who violated the Code of Military Justice boldly relates his tale in GUILTY AS CHARGED. In 1975, Special Forces 1st Lieutenant Jay Hatheway attempted to overturn Article 125, specifically the clauses regarding sodomy. Although the United States Supreme Court rejected the statute, arguments presented at that time set a precedent for subsequent attempts to refute the ban on homosexuals and homosexual behavior in the military.      Five days before Hatheway was to leave the service, a surprise call from his Colonel changed his life forever. His Commander read Hatheway's rights and then read the charge of sodomy. In return for a "nonjudicial discharge under conditions less than honorable for the good of the service," public scandal and an extended enlistment during prosecution could be avoided. An offer of prison or a dishonorable discharge following four years of exemplary service leaves Hatheway devastated. Public branding as gay insures he will be officially disgraced, denied VA benefits, and will never serve in any branch of the Federal Government. He'd badly underestimated the seriousness with which the military reacts to homosexuality.      As Hatheway relates his formative years and growing sexual proclivities, he reveals a normal background and healthy inquisitiveness. Blessed with a rather cosmopolitan upbringing, world travel led to an interest in the military. Eventually, his skills lead to becoming a Green Beret demonstrating remarkable fortitude. Although he was aware of the military's position of gays, Hatheway did pursue occasional discrete relationships and he always maintained a low profile. But as an officer, he'd made himself an inadvertent target because a previous investigation that was dismissed for lack of proof had branded him. This time prosecution continued, despite obviously flawed testimony, because the Army wanted to make an example of him.      A short history of gay civil rights provides the introduction to GUILTY AS CHARGED, firmly placing this movement within the larger scope of civil rights. For those unfamiliar with the changes of the last forty years, this section is a must read. Presented as scholarly text complete with footnotes, the contrasting narrative effectively juxtaposes impersonal text with a deeply moving narrative. No longer just rules on a page, section 125 comes alive in Hatheways' pen with all of its scarring implications. Hatheway's writing style is self-honest, revealing a side of the military seldom discussed as he doldly describes a world kept hidden and greatly ridiculed. A noteworthy and extraordinary memoir, GUILTY AS CHARGED comes very highly recommended for gays and straights.      -- Cindy Penn, Senior Editor, WordWeaving (editor@wordweaving.com) http://www.wordweaving.com