European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 1, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse A a. T Gay entertainers letter to Pacific stripes helped Pat Sailor s slaying in spotlight by Gregory Crouch los Angeles times Valan Cain went to Casebo Japan last year to entertain . Troops and vacationing japanese who flock to the Seaside Village for rest and relaxation. With a five month contract the Singer and dancer figured that his stint in Casebo would provide him with plenty of Good stories to Tell Back Home in Irvine Calif. But the Story Cain became embroiled in was not what he had in mind a the slaying in october of 22-year-old Seaman Allen r. Schindler. A slashed and beaten beyond recognition oct. 27 in a Casebo Public r restroom Schindler has in death become a Central figure in the controversy Over the proposed lifting of the ban on Gays in the military. Cain was one of three Gay entertainers from Southern California who befriended Schindler in the last few Days of his life just a few weeks after he had Quot come out Quot to his commanding officer and word of his sexual ,. Orientation had spread throughout his ship the amphibious assault ship Belleau Wood. With Cain and the others Schindler had finally he was so desperately seeking a fellow Gays he could entrust with Nis most intimate thoughts ranging from a crush he had on one of them to his difficult life aboard the ship he had nicknamed the. Quot hell eau Quot we were his outlet Quot Cain said. Quot he attached himself to us every moment he could. We talked three or four hours a night. He was so hungry to be around people who would understand five Days after he had met the entertainers Schindler was killed a his Skull crushed All but two of his ribs broken and his Penis lacerated. His head was repeatedly rammed into a porcelain and Metal urinal according to. An autopsy report. In the Wake of the killing the three entertainers have become widely credited with pushing the Schindler slaying into the spotlight. After Reading in a Casebo nest paper that the Navy claimed that the murder resulted from a Quot difference of opinion Quot the men penned a letter to the Pacific stars and stripes on nov. 2 suggesting that the Navy was covering up a Gay bashing. Their letter unleashed a firestorm of controversy that is still flaring. By mid december the Navy acknowledged that Schindler s sexual orientation might have been a Factor in the attack. Quot he could not be identified except for his tattoos Quot said one of the Trio Erie Underwood an actor and Model who lives in new York and los Angeles. Quot i realized Allen was a victim of a hate crime. This was t something the Navy should sweep under the carpet. He was a Good Guy. I the would never do anything to warrant such a horrible horrible the Navy a which has arrested two of Schindler s shipmates a said that the Case is under investigation and that Gay bashing has not Betyn ruled out As a motive. Airman apprentice Terry Seaman a Fen r. Schindler was killed after notifying superiors that he was a homosexual. Helvey 20, will face a trial for murder White airman Charles a. Vins 20, has been convicted of failing to report the attack and resisting arrest. Quot we Are aware of the fact that Seaman Schindler was a homosexual and we Are looking into the aspect of homosexuality being a motive said it. Cmdr Betsy Bird. Rod Burton 27, said he Cain and Underwood wrote the letter so Allen did t die in a claiming that Many heterosexuals in the military accept Gays and lesbians in their midst the entertainers said they were introduced to Schindler by several straight sailors concerned about his welfare. Quot they said we have a Friend we want you to meet Quot recalled Cain who a was friends with the straight sailors. Quot they said he had t probably talked to a lot of people who were Gay in a while and probably would like the conversation and Cain and Schindler were then introduced outside a bar in Casebo. Immediately Schindler struck up a conversation saying he was relieved a that he was about to be discharged from the Navy because of his homosexuality. Quot he hated the ship he called it a floating prison Quot Cain said. But Cain added that unlike another Gay Sailor aboard the Belleau Wood whom Schindler did not know he Quot never Felt threatened. He never feared for his life. Schindler did Tell the entertainers that shipmates often used epithets. Quot he said there would be times he d be walking Down the corridor and people would say do you know there Are faggots on this ship As he was a passing by Cain said. Quot he did say he Felt Lucky that he was not Hurt. For being Gay because he knew that other people had Cain said he went to the Public restroom where Schindler was slain and found blood All Over the Walls and inside the urinals. By the next Day someone had left a bouquet of Flowers on the floor. Quot knowing Allen and knowing what potential he had and How he was trying to get his life together and pick up the pieces after the military experience i just knew it was such a great loss Quot Underwood said. He added that Schindler would be thrilled to know that his death has become a focal Point for Gay activists pushing for a reversal of the ban on Gays in the military Quot he was t ashamed of who he was Quot Underwood said. Action Lin what s involved in figuring cola q my question concerns calculation of the Cost of living allowance for soldiers in Usa eur. If you have two soldiers with the same rank same number of years served and the same number of dependents but one is stationed in the Numberg Furth area and the other is stationed in Karlsruhe is their cola the same Robert a. Burnham Karlsruhe Germany a i it. Col. Steven b. Henry chief of finance and accounting division 266th theater finance come he Usa eur replies cola is based on pay Grade number of family members years service and duty location. The cola i on the toes of commissary and Exchange facilities in your Community. Both of the areas in question Are considered to be full support areas As each Community has an Exchange and a commissary. Therefore cola should be the same Tor both soldiers whether assigned in Karlsruhe or Numberg Furth. The cola is an allowance established to compensate members Tor the High Cost of purchasing items on the local Market in other words cola is a Means of keeping the purchasing Power of members assigned in Usa eur equal to that of persons assigned in the states. Readers action line which appears mondays and wednesdays strives to answer questions about life in a military environment of you done to know where to turn for help write Reader a action Une co t he stars and stripes unit 29480, Apoate 09211. All letters must be signed. Please include address and phone number. Black quilters receive overdue recognition. By Hazelton the associated press like the Black space circling the wedding rings that Dot one old fashioned american quiet a. A pattern the 200-year Rife of Black quilters is emerging As an integral part of the design. Fuelled by a new focus on ethnic identity that grew from the civil rights movement and encouraged by the be w feminist tradition of examining Quot women s work Quot As Art Black quilt makers Are beginning to take their proper place in american Folk Art Quot quilting is a fundamental part of the african american cultural tradition said Joe Ketner director of the Washington University gallery of Art in St Louis and an expert on 19thcentury Black Art Quot quilting evolved from a Strong tradition of weaving in Africa and is still a vital part of african american culture in the United states quilt makers once meant White women. But Cuesta Ray Benberry who has spent is years researching Black quitters said african americans have created quilts almost As Long As Whites. In fact the colourful american Patchwork quilt traditionally associated with White appalachian Craft women is actually a fusion of Blade and White techniques Benberry said. Elk Leon an Independent so boy. _ collector in Oakland Calif., said the study of. Of the an Ling Elk Leon an Independent scholar and quilt but Vedbor in Oakland Calif., said the study of Black quilting Sheds Light on the history of the Craft As a whole. Quot the african american tradition has fuelled has inspired the Patchwork quilt Quot he said. A however the Black and White traditions Are not identical he said. In contrast to a european american emphasis on the precise reproduction of a traditional pattern the african american quitter was More Likely to improvise using soaps to create Quot decorative patterns that in Africa would have been imbued with symbolic meaning As Well As aesthetic like to Manv other cultural manifestations a from music to food a a melding of Europe and West african traditions led to something totally new and wholly american. Constructed of Small blocks of sewn together fabric scraps the Patchwork quilt typifies the american emphasis on ingenuity and convenience Benberry said. Quot when people say this kind of quilt came Over on the Mayflower it s simply not True she said. Quot quilting in America did come from Europe but the quilt we know As the traditional american Patchwork quilt is not wholly seventeenth Century europeans used a three layered bed covering often of silk with a design stitched into it but it was a luxury item. It was another group of immigrants slaves from West Africa who applied the now familiar Patchwork and quilting techniques to that bedcovers. The West africans had no need for three layered bedcovers in their warm Homeland. But they like medieval asians quilted their heavy doth Armor and they wove Long narrow strips of doth and stitched them together to create larger textiles Benberry says. This skill was transferred to making quilts once the slaves arrived in America and needed covers to keep them warm at night. By the mid-18th Century the Patchwork quilt in America had evolved to what it is known today. Benberry who retired in 1985 after 40 years of teaching in St. Louis Public schools is a historian and lecturer. A member of the quieter s Hail of Fame she appears in who s who in America and the smithsonian institution s it f i a it
