Eric Alva Press Conference Transcript
Congressman Meehan: Our next speaker is another Iraq war veteran. Staff Sgt. Eric Alva served in the Marine Corps for 13 years. He was a member of the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Marines. At the age of 22, he was deployed to Somalia and he later was stationed in Japan and Iraq. He reenlisted following the Gulf War. On March 21, 2003, Sgt. Alva was traveling in Iraq in a convey to Basra with his Battalion where he was in charge of 11 soldiers. He stepped on a landmine, breaking his right arm and damaging his leg so badly that it needed to be amputated. Sgt. Alva was awarded a purple heart and received his medial discharge from the military. Sgt. Alva was the first American solider wounded in the Iraq war. Now he is working with the Human Rights Campaign to speak out against the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy banning gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans from serving in the armed forces. Sgt.: thank you very much for your efforts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
Eric Alva: Thank you for allowing me to be here today. I’m here to show my support to Congressman Meehan’s bill to appeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” I also want to share with you that I am an American who fought for his country and for the protection and rights and freedoms for all American citizens – not just some of them, but all of them.
Please bear with me because I did not write a speech. Most of my time in talking to people, I usually generally speak from the heart and that’s what I’m going to do today, ladies and gentlemen. I have a unique story. I am in a position to share with the American people why I have come forward. I was the first American wounded when the war started and who would have ever guessed that the first American wounded was a gay Marine. I served proudly for 13 years in the United States Marine Corps along side other people that were gay and lesbian as well. It was a huge sacrifice on my part – one that I took in hand each year that I had – to serve another year and as far as even reenlisting two months before going into Iraq.
My convey – which I was part of a logistical convey on March 21 – crossed the border of Iraq-Kuwait that morning leading into the invasion of Iraq. I was on a logistical convey where we pulled into a position with 50 vehicles and over 75 or 100 Marines and sailors. I was unfortunate, because one of my attempts to actually get out of my vehicle – on the third try to warm up my MRE [Meal, Ready-to-Eat] – I had stepped on a landmine. The other two times, I had just missed it, and it had been right next to my right rear front tire the whole time.
My injuries were severe. I broke my left leg. I broke my right arm with severe nerve damage – and still suffer today from my hands with disabilities. My right leg was severe enough to where doctors amputated it to save my life, which I am blessed.
I come forward to you today to help Congressman Meehan and others to show that there are people like myself among the ranks of men and women in the Armed Forces that have served to protect this nation – above and beyond. And probably years before that – many, many years before that and many many more years to come. But I ask that you give them the chance to serve openly – to have the opportunity to be judged for who they are. To see the qualifications that we have as all American citizens should be judged by. I ask that this nation look at the discrimination that we still seek in our ranks and not judge the person by that. A person in this country is usually judged by the way they do a job. Everybody lives a separate private life. My life was nothing but more private than anyone else than the next man that I was serving next to or woman that I was serving next to.
I ask that you take this word to the American people and ask them to please judge us for who we are and let people see the great nation that we defend. This is a country to defend the rights and freedoms of others and to stop the hatred that still exists amongst ourselves – even within the ranks of the military. The future needs to end discrimination that we tired to end many, many years ago in the sixties.
I thank you for allowing me to be here, Congress Meehan. And I look forward to your questions in a minute.