Arlington replaces confederate statue with statue of interracial gay troops kissing

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Va. — Secretaries of the military branches presided over a ceremony this morning to dedicate a statue of interracial gay troops kissing where a confederate statue once stood, sources confirm.

A large crowd wearing rainbow attire cheered as Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, and Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro unveiled the bronze figures of a white male officer wrapped in the arms of a Black male soldier, their lips locked in fiery passion.

The base of the new statue previously held a confederate memorial that was removed last year as part of the Pentagon’s “No More Glorification For Traitors” cemetery improvement project. 

“It is a testament to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that we have unveiled this statue on the 163rd anniversary of the Confederate constitution’s approval,” Austin said in his remarks before introducing the sculpture’s creator, Saffron Monsoon, to a long round of applause.

Monsoon, a 22-year-old white woman from St Louis, chanted a Nepalese blessing before they/them said “I/we thank you for gazing upon my/our vision of global peace.” Monsoon acknowledged the artwork’s similarity to Frederick Hart's famous “Three Servicemen” statue. “Mr. Hart depicted the officer in the middle reaching out to hold hands with the soldier next to him,” they said. “This life-size sculpture captures their emotional conclusion.”

Not everyone was happy with the Pentagon’s decision to replace a statue dedicated to a militia that tried to overthrow the federal government in 1861. Forty Republican lawmakers fought to keep it until an indignant Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin sent it to a military institute whose cadets gave their lives to overthrow the federal government in 1864.

Robin Berger is a retired Air Force NCO who shops every month at the PX.