Dr David Bradford served as a Regimental Medical Officer with the Australian Army in the Vietnam War. He was aware of his attraction to other men when he joined the Army but knew that he could never be open about this during his service. The ban against lesbian, gay and bisexual people serving in Australia’s Defence Force was not lifted until November 1992, long after David served.
The pressure of the military’s position on same-sex attraction, and the influence of his own religious upbringing, meant that he had to hide this aspect of his identity. Despite the silence imposed on him, David says that service allowed him to reflect on the strict religious morals that had shaped the sense of guilt he held around sex and sexual identity. These beliefs no longer seemed to make sense in the context of war and the gruelling lives of soldiers under his medical care.
Watch David’s story of service.
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