2026-07-30 15:22 UTC
During WW2, Aalto was recruited to the Office of Strategic Services, but Irving Goff & other OSS Lincoln veterans reported to the OSS head, General Donovan, that Aalto was gay and requested he be ejected from the team. In 1942, Aalto was transferred to an army training camp. Because of this betrayal by the OSS Lincoln vets, Aalto drifted away from contact with the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. (4/5)
#WW2
#OSS
#LGBTQ
Replies (1)
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@MNSpy@mastodon.online 2026-07-30 15:22
In Sep 1943, while training soldiers in demolition work, Aalto saw someone drop a live grenade & he lunged for it. Before he could throw it away, the grenade exploded, severing his arm at the wrist. He was medically discharged from the service. After the war, he studied poetry at Columbia University on the GI Bill & socialized with Jack Kerouac, Alan Ansen, WH Auden, & James Schuyler. Aalto died of leukemia in June 1958. He is buried at the Long Island National Cemetery.(5/5) #WW2 #GIBill #LGBTQ