Vernon E. “Copy” Berg was U. S. Naval Academy graduate and artist. He was the first Naval Academy alumnus to actively fight the policies against homosexuality in the services. After Mr. Berg's suit against the Navy, which had given him an other than honorable discharge as an ensign in 1976, the armed forces adopted a policy of generally granting honorable discharges to homosexuals.

Biography

Copy Berg was born in 7 July 1951 in Port Jefferson

Port Jefferson

Port Jefferson is the name of some places in the United States of America:*Port Jefferson, New York*Port Jefferson, Ohio...

, New York. He was called Copy because he was so like his father, Commander

Commander

Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...

 Vernon E. Berg Jr., a Navy chaplain. He obtained a Naval & Marine Reserve appointment to U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated with the Class of 1974 with a Bachelors of Science Degree.

Naval Academy

While at the Academy, Copy was known to be prolific at his art which appeared in The Log Magazine, the Art and Printing Club posters, T-Shirts, Beat Army buttons, Christmas dinner programs and as centerfolds of programs. He could be seen dancing across the Stage of Mahan Hall in the Masqueraders' musicals. He is quoted as saying "It's not that a Midshipman

Midshipman

A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

 can draw, write or sing well, its that a Midshipman can draw, write or sing at all."

He sang in the Protestant Chapel Choir and Naval Academy Glee Club.

Time in the Fleet

After graduation from the Naval Academy, Berg reported to his first ship the USS Little Rock (CLG-4), the Flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 for the U. S. Navy Sixth Fleet

Sixth Fleet

Sixth Fleet or 6th fleet may mean:* United States Sixth Fleet* IJN 6th Fleet, Imperial Japanese Navy* Luftflotte 6-See also:* Fifth * Fleet * Fifth Fleet * Seventh Fleet...

 in the Mediterranean home ported in Gaeta

Gaeta

Gaeta is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, central Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is 120 km from Rome and 80 km from Naples....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Discharge and Trials

As a result of the legal action, his discharge was upgraded to honorable in 1977.

In 1978, the United States Court of Appeals

United States court of appeals

The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system...

 for the District of Columbia ruled that Berg and former Technical Sergeant Leonard P. Matlovich

Leonard Matlovich

Technical Sergeant Leonard P. Matlovich was a Vietnam War veteran, race relations instructor, and recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star....

 of the Air Force

Air force

An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...

 had been unfairly discharged, although it did not reinstate them, as both had sought. Berg was discharged after an investigation revealed he was in a gay relationship.

Life as an artist

After departing the U.S. Navy, he moved to New York and earned a master's degree in design from Pratt Institute

Pratt Institute

Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...

 in Brooklyn. He died in Manhattan on Wednesday January 27, 1999.

67 linear feet (161 boxes) of the Copy Berg Papers are held by the New York Public Library

New York Public Library

The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...

, Manuscripts and Archives Division.

See also

• U.S. Naval Academy
• USNA Out
  USNA Out
  USNA Out is an American non-profit organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Alumni of the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland...
  
  
• Sexual orientation and the United States military
• Leonard Matlovich
  Leonard Matlovich
  Technical Sergeant Leonard P. Matlovich was a Vietnam War veteran, race relations instructor, and recipient of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star....
  
  
• Joseph Steffan
  Joseph Steffan
  Joseph Steffan is an American lawyer and gay activist. He was expelled from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1987 after revealing his homosexuality to his commanding officer. At the time he was six weeks from graduation and one of the six highest-ranking midshipmen in the Academy...