The Associated Press

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (May 28, 2001 08:06 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - A gay veterans group unveiled a monument Sunday to remember gay service members killed in combat.

The ceremony was attended by veterans in uniform, the mother of a Navy serviceman beaten to death at age 23 for being gay and a color guard carrying the rainbow banner that symbolizes gay pride.

The activists who pushed for the monument in this desert city just south of Palm Springs say it is the first of its kind.

"It's a turn-of-the-century event," said Dennis Palt, a former Air Force staff sergeant who served in Vietnam. "I had hoped for this but you could have never thought this would become a reality in the 1970s, 1980s or '90s. It's fabulous."

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