Major Stephen Snyder-Hill serves his country proudly, but his country has not always served him. In September, 2011, then-Captain Hill was deployed to Iraq. He was fighting a war. Meanwhile in the United States, a group of Republican candidates were discussing the future of America. In Florida, at the Orange County Convention Center, these prospective presidents gathered for a debate. They took questions from the audience, and from a large video screen.
Thousands of miles away, Captain Hill, stood up and spoke into the camera to the American audience. He addressed the men from Iraq. Hill said, “In 2010, when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was because I’m a gay soldier and I didn’t want to lose my job. My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that’s been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?”
The crowd reacted poorly. Hill was booed on live television. The question was fielded to former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum. Santorum responded by saying, “Sexual activity has no place in the military. Allowing gays to serve openly ‘undermines’ America’s ability to defend itself.”
The audience that jeered Hill, cheered Santorum.
Hill (now Snyder-Hill after marrying his partner Josh Snyder) remembers the moment vividly. It’s seared into his brain as if he was branded by a white hot poker.
Snyder-Hill said, “The boos didn’t bother me as much as [former U.S. Senator Rick] Santorum’s response. This man, who has never served a day in his life, reduced my honorable twentyfive years as a good soldier into just sex.” After Snyder-Hill’s public admission on a live television, the army sent out a Public Affairs Officer to speak with him. Snyder-Hill said, “He was supposed to only spend two hours with me, but we spent the day together.”
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Snyder-Hill confessed to the officer about his difficulty of lying to the men he had sworn to stand by. He had to hide pictures of his boyfriend. He replaced a screensaver picture of Josh with a picture of a lesbian friend. He had to change the pronouns (from ‘he’ to ‘she’) whenever he told a story. Snyder-Hill said, “The constitution contains the phrase, ‘Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.’ I felt like I was fighting for other people’s freedom but I wasn’t fighting for my own.”
Snyder-Hill said, “The army values contain the words honor, integrity and courage. I was using my army values to do what I thought was right.”
After he related his story to the Public Affairs Officer, the officer admitted to him his own son had just come out of the closet. The officer had found solace in Snyder-Hill’s words.
The major said, “He [the Public Affairs Officer] encouraged me to write it down.” The story became a book.
Snyder-Hill said, “I had no intention of writing a book.” He added, “Josh and I never planned to create all this ruckus.”
It was quite a ruckus. While Snyder-Hill was stationed in Iraq to serve the rest of his tour of duty, his statement was causing a commotion stateside. Media ran with it. Jon Stewart joked about it. Aaron Sorkin used the entire clip on an episode of “Newsroom,” praising the soldier and admonishing the Republican candidates with an eloquent speech from the show’s main character played by Jeff Daniels.
Television and film star George Takei was so moved by the episode of the HBO drama series that he wrote the forward.
In June, 2014, Takei and his husband Brad Altman were grand marshals of Columbus Pride. Takei and Altman invited the Snyder-Hills (grand marshals of the Columbus Pride in 2013) to participate with them.
Major Snyder-Hill said, “In every press event George mentioned my book. It was amazing.” A lot of good has come out of being lacerated at the Republican Debate.
The major said, “The booing was a good thing. Some Republicans came to me and told me they were ashamed about how members of their own party reacted. They were disgusted by the booing.”
Major Snyder-Hill is eagerly anticipating his book launch. The soldier believes the book is a coming out story from the point of view of a gay man who lived in a heterosexual world. It was the first time he put his thoughts about his secret life as a gay soldier into words.
The major said, “My mom proofread the book for me. She said she never thought about how much I struggled. My mom said, ‘This book is your gift to the world.’”
She isn’t the only one proud of the American soldier.
His husband Josh Snyder-Hill said, “He’s my personal hero and I know this book will show the country how amazing of a man he is. It’s going to open hearts and minds.”
“Soldier of Change: From the Closet to the Forefront of the Gay Rights Movement” by Stephen Snyder-Hill is available September 1.
