WASHINGTON — It’s an emotional homecoming for former midshipman Louis Feuchtbaum, who is attending his 30th reunion at the U.S. Naval Academy this weekend. It’s his first visit back since the military ended its ban on openly gay service members.
As Louis Feuchtbaum walked around the campus, he shared many memories from his time as a midshipman in the 1980s, but unfortunately, not all are fond memories.
“I always had to worry about having it discovered that I’m gay,” he said.
After graduating and spending several years in the Navy, Feuchtbaum resigned from the service, fearing if he remained, he would never have a meaningful personal life.
On Friday, Feuchtbaum returned to the campus for the reunion, and it’s the first time he felt completely comfortable hugging his husband Renzo Perez, on academy grounds, as the two posed for pictures in front of Bancroft Hall.
“This truly feels like a homecoming; I don’t feel the stigma that I once felt here,” Feuchtbaum said.
A graduate of the class of 1986, Feuchtbaum, of San Francisco, California, was proud to be a midshipman, and had always wanted to graduate from the academy, but he knew to do that, he would have to keep his sexual preference a secret.
During that time, Feuchtbaum said the Navy would investigate what it called “allegations of homosexuality.” In order to graduate, he was forced to pretend he was someone that he was not.
“The idea that I had to do it, by misrepresenting what I am to classmates, was something that always troubled me,” Feuchtbaum said.
During his time at the academy, he didn’t think there was anyone else like him on campus, but he later learned he wasn’t alone.
“I have plenty of classmates who are gay, but I didn’t know that at the time,” he said.
Feuchtbaum said the academy is an amazing place, and he urges midshipmen to cherish their time at the school, telling them to “go out and serve honorably.”
Editor’s Note: Louis Feuchtbaum is WTOP Hillary Howard’s brother.
