The news lately has been a nonstop, fast and furious blur of election analysis, much of it served up in a manner designed to exacerbate our differences – Republican vs. Democrat, red states vs. blue.

But there is another important day for our country this week, and it has gone largely overlooked in spite of the constant talk of war and troops. This year, we’ll mark Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 10.

This holiday is a time designed to honor our country’s servicemembers; those men and women whose commitment to the United States is unquestionable. For me, I can’t help but think specifically of the unique sacrifices that our LGBT servicemembers have made.

Those currently in the military – including those putting their lives on the line in Iraq – serve under the misguided “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, where still some of our best and brightest are expelled from service, even when their talents and experience are clearly assets to our armed forces. Some of our finest San Diegans were dishonorably discharged during witch hunts against lesbian and gay servicemembers.

I know there are many divergent opinions on war in our community. But perhaps we can all agree that the hypocritical policies surrounding LGBT servicemembers may be best summed up by Leonard Matlovich, a gay veteran. On his headstone – which only identifies him as “A Gay Vietnam Veteran” – is inscribed, “When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”

Matlovich was fighting discrimination in the military before many of our current servicemembers were born. He appeared on the cover of Time magazine as an openly gay veteran in 1975, nearly two decades before “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would become a national issue.

But my guess is there are too few people who know about Leonard Matlovich, and the thousands and thousands of other LGBT veterans who have served our country so admirably. That is just one of the reasons I’m so glad The Center has been able to partner with the U.S. Library of Congress, Momentum San Diego and the Lambda Archives to capture and preserve the stories of our LGBT veterans and their wartime service through the Veterans History Project.

Especially here in San Diego, where we have such a bounty of distinguished LGBT servicemembers that it is important we document these stories of service, heroism and patriotism.

Interviews will be conducted at The Center throughout the month of November. These stories will be added to the official archives at the Library of Congress and will become a permanent part of our nation’s history. Some of the stories from the Veterans History Project will be featured on the Library of Congress Web site that is accessed by researchers, students and historians internationally. For more information about how to get involved with the project, contact The Center at (619) 692-2077.

In order to change our current discriminatory military policy, we must continue to tell the stories of LGBT servicemembers and veterans. This year, American Veterans for Equal Rights will also lead an effort to include LGBT veterans in the larger veterans’ community. This Saturday, they are inviting all LGBT veterans to march with them in the San Diego County Veterans Day Parade. Those who are interested in joining should meet at 10:00 a.m. in the north parking lot at the San Diego County Administration Building. For more information, call (619) 459-1019 or log on to www.orgsites.com/ca/aver_sandiego.

The Center is grateful for the efforts of all those individuals and organizations who work so hard all year to make these stories known and to end discrimination in the armed forces. We also cannot express our appreciation enough to all those LGBT servicemembers and veterans who have served with such courage and dedication. So, on this Veterans Day, we simply say, “Thank you.”