My assignment just before I became a battery commander had been a general’s aide-de-camp, a very high-profile and demanding position that gave me a lot of connections I could use down the road when it came time for promotions and other selections. At that time I had attained the rank of captain and I was a commanding officer, the most sought-after position in the Marine Corps.
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I was aware, however, that a poster boy was at least a part of who I was. I wasn’t exactly sure she’d find that representation in me but I thought there was a good chance she’d see that image in one of the people I planned to introduce her to. This journalist is looking for a model of the military, Carter added. I thought it would be great to be part of a story that would reach so many readers. Tim contacted me and said, "We’re going to put a New York Times reporter, Jennifer Egan, in touch with you is that okay?" I had also been previously introduced to Tim Carter, the co-chair of the organization. I had recently written this one piece which suggested that Don’t ask, don’t tell should be repealed. I was an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, just north of San Diego, and had been writing op-ed pieces for the Navy Times. Since southern California has a heavy concentration of military personnel, Jennifer decided to conduct some interviews in San Diego. Jennifer asked SLDN for assistance in locating military people who would be willing to talk about their experiences.
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In researching the story Jennifer contacted the Service Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN), an organization out of Washington which provides free legal services for anyone in the military facing an investigation, charges, or any problem with the Don’t ask, don’t tell policy. That’s how we all felt and that’s what I hoped the story would convey. Yet we were not completely part of the gay community either, because we were in the military. The article would reveal how we were not necessarily a part of the military community because we were gay-there was always that distinction. About how we felt trapped in this kind of no man’s land. The New York Times Magazine had assigned a young, freelance writer named Jennifer Egan to write about what day-to-day life was like for those of us in the military living under the Don’t ask, don’t tell policy. I thought it was going to be a story about my friends, about this group of guys and how we all stuck together, and how we always tried to be there for each other. I didn’t expect the article to be a story about me.
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It’s the compelling, poignant story of how a boy who never listened to pop music, never cursed, and didn’t have his first drink until he was eighteen exploded into a life of drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, prostitution, and pornography. Here’s the story of Rich Merritt-the good son, teacher’s pet, Southern gentleman, model Christian student at Bob Jones University, Marine officer, and the not-so-anonymous poster boy for a New York Times Magazine article on gays in the military-whose complicated sexual past caused an international scandal when The Advocate “outed” him as “The Marine Who Did Gay Porn,” putting his life in a tailspin. YES, IT ALL REALLY HAPPENED JUST LIKE THIS…