‘One of the Boys’ Reviewed

Filed Under Books, Military | February 2nd, 2010 

I recently finished reading One Of The Boys – Homosexuality in the Military during World War II by Paul Jackson. As this is the book that the National Film Board of Canada documentary, Open Secrets is based on, and which I’ve featured at this site, I’ve been wanting to sit down and read more about this subject.

One Of The Boys: Homosexuality in the Military During World War II (Paperback) by Paul JacksonAnd as I’ve posted about gays in the military on numerous occasions, including my letter to the Minister of National Defence and his response, I felt that this would be a good book to further my education on how Canada dealt with the question of queers in the military.

The last sentence seems a little odd, given that I served in the Canadian military. However, given my age, (40 something) I obviously didn’t serve during World War II. But I do have an interest in that time period of Canadian military history, and given that there’s been so few books available on this particular subject I felt that I must read One Of The Boys. Also, in addition to finding out more that might help me in my writing about what I feel to be an unfinished piece of business when it comes to Canadian service members who were discharged prior to homosexuality no longer being illegal in the Canadian Forces, I also felt that perhaps this book would help me out when it came to writing about the current situation in America and the effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. I rather think it will on both counts.

One Of The Boys starts off with a detailed introduction to the topic before going into greater depth in the following six chapters: In Search of a Policy; Military Law and Queer Servicemen; Military Psychiatry; Queer Servicemen in Canada; Queer Servicemen Overseas; Esprit de Corps, Cohesion, and Morale. I must say, those were six of the longest chapters I’ve slogged though in quite awhile. But that’s a good thing. The chapters were packed with details and stories on how queer service members (mainly male) lived, worked and socialized during the second world war. Jackson also details in great depth how the military bureaucracy, medical and legal system worked during those days. Case after case was retold, using medical reports and court martial files. Sometimes it was almost like being in the actual court martial proceedings itself.

Even though the stories and the cases were from WW II, it all had a very familiar feel to it. Sure, some of the details and settings changed over the years, but service life in the 80’s and early 90’s had many similarities to what I read in this study of military life during the second world war. And indeed, some of the aspects of military service will still ring true today. I found it fascinating to see military life dissected and put under a microscope, and even more fascinating to realize that I could readily identify with a great many of the situations, stories and cases that were related in the book.

At times I had to laugh at the familiarity and absurdity of some of the cases and scenarios and of the double standards that were employed then. Other parts weren’t so amusing or idyllic. There were plenty of examples that showed the stark reality of what it was like to serve as a homosexual in the Forces. And a great many of those stories are truly sad; a few even cringe-worthy.

Although, queers were sometimes accepted and even protected within their unit, the reality is that regardless of their popularity, if they were caught by the wrong person, they could and were subjected to psychiatric assessments, courts-martial proceedings, prison terms, and dishonourable discharges. Careers and jobs were lost, lives ruined and unit cohesion shattered whenever some busy-body puritan got bent out of shape and decided to clean up the military of its queers; and during a time when every able bodied man was needed yet.

Paul Jackson has I think managed to provide great insight into the subject of Canada’s queer servicemen and shed light into an important part of our history that has largely been forgotten and ignored. He’s provided a rich and detailed glimpse into what it was like to serve as a queer during the second world war and the consequences of being caught for homosexual behaviour. There’s truly a stunning amount of information packed into this book. I should also mention that there’s also a lot of really great photographs and illustrations throughout One Of The Boys; some great gems that just put the icing on the cake as it were.

Anyone who’s interested in military history and gay history should read One Of The Boys and have a copy in their personal library. My only problem with this book is deciding which shelf to put it on.

One Of The Boys – Homosexuality in the Military during World War II (First Edition) by Paul Jackson is currently available from Amazon or directly from McGill-Queens University Press. The Second Edition is due out, April 2010.