Tom Gator Swann

He is a Marine Corps veteran who has worked for civil rights and political causes since
1972. He is legally blind, thanks to AIDS, fought against the military’s “Don’t Ask,
Don’t Tell” policy and works for AIDS awareness. Swann won a discrimination lawsuit
against the US Navy that now protects gay civilian employees of the military and helped create the first memorial dedicated to LGBT veterans, located
in Desert Memorial Park near Palm Springs, California. On the 75th
anniversary of the liberation of Dachau Nazi concentration camp,
he organized a wreath laying ceremony at Congressional Cemetery
involving the military unit that liberated Dachau. His nickname is
based on his love for the University of Florida Gators. A Roman
Catholic, he was blessed by Pope John Paul II. Swann is still living
and an LGBT activist.