S.A. vet finds hope in efforts to drop 'don't ask, don't tell'

So the Texan had three words -- "I am ecstatic" -- when he was asked about the recent movement in Washington to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" law.

Earlier this week, the nation's top uniformed officer said it was wrong to force people to lie about who they are in order to defend their country. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, set the stage for Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who said he and others need a year to determine the best way to repeal the ban without creating mayhem.

Alva, a Marine who lost his right leg when he stepped on a land mine outside of Basra, acknowledges that some gay activists think President Obama, Gates and others are moving too slowly to repeal the Bill Clinton-era law.

But Alva says he's not worried.

"I have a good, warm feeling," says Alva, who lives in San Antonio and was born and raised here. "Change doesn't come quickly. Remember how long it took President Truman to integrate the troops? And look at Judy Shepard. It took her 10-plus years to fight for a hate-crimes bill (that included sexual orientation), and she never wavered. She never lost faith."

Alva, 39, says he realized he was gay in middle school but kept the information to himself at home. He was raised a Catholic, he says, and both his father and grandfather served in the military.

After graduating from high school and doing poorly in his first year of college, Alva decided that he, too, wanted to serve his country. He lied about his sexual orientation on the application forms in order to fulfill that goal, he says.

The Marine, later a staff sergeant, served for 13 years, starting in 1990.

"The Marines were a passion," Alva says. "I loved it."