MARTIN, Tenn., June 28, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- A former military flight surgeon, currently a practicing physician, has penned a book dealing with homosexuality in the military during World War II. Lloyd Duncan's Everything Is Not Enough delves on this controversial issue with an objective eye. Although the book is fictitious, Duncan, who majored in the social sciences at Yale, touches on the sociological and psychological aspects of the problem and its impact and implications for the military.
Seventeen-year-old Jack Scott, deemed the most outstanding teenager in his Arkansan small town, is forced to confront his homosexuality both at home and in the Marines. It is his story, and, to a degree, the story of his family, his friends, and his comrades.
Of the 16 million men who served during World War II, an estimated three percent (over 480,000) were gay. Several thousands didn't get past the screening, while those found guilty were later discharged, most often with Undesirable Discharges. Tens of thousands saw combat action; hundreds were killed and thousands were wounded.
Duncan began researching the subject of homosexuality in the military when then President Bill Clinton tried, unsuccessfully, to deal with the problem. The author considers the cause of the altered orientation to be a combination of hereditary and environmental factors, resulting in "an amoral but unfortunate condition." Everything Is Not Enough mirrors his opinion, as the book looks at the subject with a realistic and sympathetic eye.
Responding to critics in advance, the author recognizes that the term "gay" was not used until several years after WWII. The word "gay" was not used in the book.
About the Author
Lloyd Duncan is a graduate of Yale University and a former U.S. Naval flight surgeon. He will soon retire from the practice of general surgery. He lives with his wife in a rural town in Tennessee.
He enjoys a professional association with his daughter and her husband, both practicing physicians. A son is a wholesale food broker. But what Duncan treasures as much as anything is the love of his two beautiful granddaughters.
Everything Is Not Enough is his first novel. An autobiography is in his plans.
Everything is Not Enough -- By Lloyd Duncan
Publication Date: April 26, 2004
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