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The U.S.'s Massive Hunt to Find the Head Gay Person So They Could Find All the Gay People
Yes, you read that title right. At one point the U.S. launched a massive hunt for the head gay person so that they could then get that person to tell them who all the gay people are...
While the Ancient Greeks had their celebrated Sacred Band of Thebes, a legendarily successful fighting force made up of all male lovers, in more modern times the various branches of the United States military have not been so accepting of such individuals, which brings us to the topic of today- that time in the 1980s when the Naval Intelligence Service invested significant resources into trying to locate a mysterious woman identified only as "Dorothy" who seemed to have links to countless gay seamen. The plan was to find her and then "convince" her to finger these individuals so the military could give them the boot.
This story all starts with a naval crack down to try to get rid of any gay personnel in the early 1980s. One Mel Dahl, who was completely open about the fact that he was gay when he was questioned about it upon enlisting in 1980, was kicked out in 1981 after being interviewed for a security clearance upgrade and once again letting the Navy know he was gay. This time they weren't so accepting of that information. During the course of Dahl's subsequent legal battle with the Navy over his discharge, he noted to the news media that there were quite a lot of gay men at the Great Lakes base he had been stationed at.
This information did not go over well with the military brass who launched a full scale investigation of the base to try to identify these individuals.
While the Ancient Greeks had their celebrated Sacred Band of Thebes, a legendarily successful fighting force made up of all male lovers, in more modern times the various branches of the United States military have not been so accepting of such individuals, which brings us to the topic of today- that time in the 1980s when the Naval Intelligence Service invested significant resources into trying to locate a mysterious woman identified only as "Dorothy" who seemed to have links to countless gay seamen. The plan was to find her and then "convince" her to finger these individuals so the military could give them the boot.
This story all starts with a naval crack down to try to get rid of any gay personnel in the early 1980s. One Mel Dahl, who was completely open about the fact that he was gay when he was questioned about it upon enlisting in 1980, was kicked out in 1981 after being interviewed for a security clearance upgrade and once again letting the Navy know he was gay. This time they weren't so accepting of that information. During the course of Dahl's subsequent legal battle with the Navy over his discharge, he noted to the news media that there were quite a lot of gay men at the Great Lakes base he had been stationed at.
This information did not go over well with the military brass who launched a full scale investigation of the base to try to identify these individuals.
It is True. While it sounds like a comedy sketch or a plot point from a movie, the U.S. Navy actually conducted a formal investigation in the early 1980s to find the literal person they believed to be "Dorothy."
This remains one of the most famous examples of a "clueless" intelligence failure caused by a lack of cultural literacy.
The Context of the Investigation
During the early 1980s, the Naval Investigative Service (NIS)—the predecessor to today's NCIS—was aggressively tasked with identifying and discharging gay service members under the era's strict exclusionary policies.
Investigators kept hearing sailors and Marines refer to themselves or others as "Friends of Dorothy."
The Misunderstanding
The NIS investigators did not realize that the phrase was a decades-old piece of LGBTQ+ slang referencing Judy Garland and her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. To be a "Friend of Dorothy" was a coded way to say you were gay at a time when being out was dangerous.
The investigators took the phrase literally. They hypothesized that:
"Dorothy" was a specific, high-ranking civilian or operative.
She was at the center of a massive, underground pro-gay influence network.
She was potentially working to organize gay service members to subvert military discipline.
The "Search" for Dorothy: The NIS launched an actual search to locate this woman. According to historical accounts:
--- Surveillance: They monitored gay bars and gatherings in places like Chicago and San Francisco.
--- Interrogations: They pressured suspected gay sailors to "give up Dorothy" or reveal her last name and location.
--- The Conclusion: The investigation eventually collapsed when the NIS realized that "Dorothy" wasn't a person, but a fictional character from a 1939 film.
Why It Matters: While it is an "amusing" story in hindsight due to the sheer incompetence of the investigators, it was terrifying for the people involved. The "search for Dorothy" resulted in the interrogation and discharge of hundreds of service members.
It stands as a stark historical reminder of how the military's obsession with "finding the gays" led them to chase ghosts, wasting taxpayer money and destroying careers because they didn't understand the slang of the very community they were trying to dismantle.
It’s the ultimate example of "military intelligence" being an oxymoron—they were looking for a woman in a gingham dress when they should have been looking for a dictionary.
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