How One of the First Legally Married Same-Sex Couples in the US Made it Down the Aisle

On November 18, 2003, in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Court declared that “…barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution.” This allowed same-sex couples to be legally married in the state of Massachusetts, the first state in the United States to do so.

David Wilson (above left), one of the plaintiffs in that landmark case, was also one of the first to be married when the law went into effect on May 17th, 2004. In 2010, David first came to StoryCorps to reflect on his difficult path to get to his wedding day.

Nine years later, David and his husband, Robert Compton, came to StoryCorps to reflect on their journey as they approach their 15th wedding anniversary.

Top photo: David Wilson and his husband Robert Compton at their StoryCorps recording in Palm Springs, California in 2019. By Jud Esty-Kendall.

Bottom photo: David Wilson, officiant Reverend Ms. Kim K. Crawford Harvie, and Robert Compton on their wedding day on May 17, 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts. Courtesy of David Wilson.

Originally aired May 17, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

By the Power Vested in Me

On November 18, 2003, in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Court declared that “…barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution.” This allowed same-sex couples to be legally married in the state of Massachusetts, the first state in the United States to do so.

In this episode of the StoryCorps podcast, we’ll hear from David Wilson, one of the plaintiffs in that landmark case, who was also one of the first to be married once the law went into effect on May 17th, 2004. He came to StoryCorps several years later to reflect on his difficult path to get to that day and what being part of that historic case meant to him.

Next, we catch up with David and his husband, Robert Compton, as they get ready to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. We’ll also hear from a gay couple married 50 years before David and Rob.

Top photo: Artwork by Michael Caines.

Second photo: David Wilson and his husband, Robert Compton, in 2019 at their StoryCorps interview in Palm Springs, California. Photo by Jud Esty-Kendall.

Third photo: Michael McConnell and his husband, Jack Baker, in 2017 at their StoryCorps interview in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by Jhaleh Akhavan.

Released on May 14, 2019.

Like the music in this episode? Support the artists:

“Overture” by Patrick Wolf from the album Sundark and Riverlight

“Periodicals” and “City Limits” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Albany, NY

“Vittoro” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Aeronaut

“Elegiac” by Bryan Copeland

The Man Who Disabled Two Hydrogen Bombs Dropped in North Carolina

On January 24, 1961, a U.S. B-52 bomber was flying over rural North Carolina when fuel started to leak, the plane snapped apart, and the two hydrogen bombs it was carrying fell into a tobacco field. If detonated, these 3.8-megaton weapons would have had an impact 250 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Lieutenant Jack ReVelle, a munitions expert who was 25 at the time, was the man called to the scene. His job was to make sure the bombs didn’t explode.

He came to StoryCorps with his daughter, Karen, to remember those harrowing eight days.

Top photo: Four of the “terrible ten” – from ReVelle’s team – observe the retrieval of the second bomb’s parachute pack from inside a hole they dug over the course of eight days. Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force.

Middle photo: The first hydrogen bomb in January 1961. Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force.

Middle photo: 24-year-old First Lieutenant Jack ReVelle in 1960, the year before the incident in North Carolina. ReVelle worked in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Photo courtesy of the United States Air Force.

Bottom photo: Jack ReVelle and Karen ReVelle at their StoryCorps interview in Santa Ana, CA. Photo by Kevin Oliver for StoryCorps.

Originally aired January 25, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Friends During the Vietnam War Reunite Almost 50 Years After

Back in 1967, close to 500,000 US troops were serving in Vietnam, including Kay Lee and John Nordeen. Kay was 22, a combat medic from San Francisco. John was 20, and a soldier from Seattle. They were assigned to the same Army platoon and became fast friends.

But the two lost touch after the war. For years, John tried to find his old friend. They finally reunited in 2015 on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a Chinese lunar holiday that celebrates family, gratitude and reunions.

And 50 years later, John and Kay sat down at StoryCorps to remember how they first met.

Top photo: Kay Lee and John Nordeen on October 30, 2018 after their StoryCorps interview in San Francisco, CA. By Susan Lee for StoryCorps.

Middle photo: Kay Lee and John Nordeen in 1967 during the Vietnam War. Courtesy of John Nordeen.

Originally aired November 16, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

A Man Recalls Being Shot by a White Supremacist at Jewish Day Camp

On the morning of August 10, 1999, a white supremacist opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon at a Jewish day camp in Los Angeles. Five were wounded, including six-year-old Josh Stepakoff, who was shot in his leg and hip, and one person was killed.

Now an adult, Josh sat down with his father, Alan, to remember that day.

The shooter is serving two consecutive life sentences plus 110 years for multiple convictions. His actions were ruled a federal hate crime.

This story aired November 2, 2018 on NPR’s Morning Edition. A version also aired November 10, 2017 on the same program.

Bottom image: Josh and his father, Alan, in Washington D.C. for the Million Mom March rally in May 2000, the year after Josh was shot.

A Couple on the Loss and Pain They Suffered at the Hands of a California Wildfire

Monique and Cody Walker chose Santa Rosa, California as the place to raise their five children. Then, in October 2017, the Tubbs wildfire swept across Sonoma County. The Walkers got their kids and dogs in the car, and fled for safety.

The fire destroyed their home, along with over 5,000 other structures. At the time, it was considered the most destructive wildfire in California’s history.

Monique and Cody sat down at StoryCorps two months after losing their home.

Top photo: Monique and Cody Walker at their December 2017 StoryCorps interview in Santa Rosa, California. Photo by Yosmay Delmazo for StoryCorps.

Middle photo: The plot of land on which the Walkers’ home used to sit. Photo courtesy of Monique Walker.

Bottom Photo: Cody Walker had cradle baskets made for each of his children, in keeping with his Chukchansi culture. They were lost in the wildfire that destroyed the family’s home. Photo courtesy of Cody and Monique Walker.

Originally aired September 21, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

An Eyewitness Details the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

On June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy won California’s Democratic primary in his bid to become President of the United States. That night, after his victory speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, Kennedy was shot in the head and neck in what turned out to be a successful assassination attempt. He died the following day.

In a famous photograph taken seconds after he was shot, Kennedy lies on the floor. A teenaged hotel busboy kneels beside him, cradling the Senator’s head. That busboy was Juan Romero, who came to the United States from Mexico as a child.

At StoryCorps, Romero remembered the night of the assassination — and how he met Senator Kennedy the day before, when Romero helped deliver his room service.

Top photo: Juan Romero at home in California holding a photo of himself and Senator Robert F. Kennedy that was taken the night Kennedy was assassinated. The photo he holds was taken by Boris Yaro of the Los Angeles Times.

Bottom photo: Hotel busboy Juan Romero cradling Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s head after Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California on June 5, 1968. Photo by Bill Eppridge/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images.

Originally aired June 1, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Original Cast Member of Hair on the Groundbreaking Broadway Musical

The rock musical Hair centers on a “tribe” of hippies who resist the Vietnam War to celebrate peace and love in New York’s East Village.

Mary Lorrie Davis was part of the original Broadway cast in 1968. She came to StoryCorps to tell her friend, Rima Cohn, what it was like to be part of that moment.

Photo: Rima Cohn (left) and Mary Lorrie Davis at their StoryCorps interview in Culver City, California. Photo by Melissa Kuypers.

“Tubby” Johnston: The Girl Who Changed Little League Baseball

In the spring of 1950, 13-year-old Kay Johnston spent her afternoons playing baseball on the neighborhood sandlot in Corning, New York. Kay wanted nothing more than to play Little League baseball. But at that time, it was unthinkable for girls to play on an official team.

At StoryCorps, Kay sat down with her husband, Cy Massar, to remember what she did next.

Top and middle photos: Kay “Tubby” Johnston in her King’s Dairy Little League team uniform in 1950. Courtesy of Kay Johnston Massar.

Bottom photo: Cy Massar and Kay Johnston Massar at their StoryCorps interview in San Francisco.

Originally aired March 30, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

War Vets John (WWII) and Jerry (Vietnam) on Love and Their Marriage

John Banvard, 100, and Jerry Nadeau, 72, are military veterans, and served in World War II and Vietnam, respectively.

When they met in 1993, they were “sort of in the closet.” John’s wife of over 35 years had died nearly a decade prior and he had never been in a serious relationship with a man. Neither had Jerry.

At first, the two seemed worlds apart. John was a lover of art and theater, while Jerry was an outdoorsman. But they hit it off and soon became inseparable.

Today, they live together in a senior home for veterans in Chula Vista, California — just a few miles south of San Diego, where they were married in 2013.

Top photo: John Banvard (L) and Jerry Nadeau at their home in Chula Vista, CA.

Bottom photo: Jerry Nadeau (L) with John Banvard outside their home in Chula Vista, CA.

Originally aired February 09, 2018 on NPR’s Morning Edition.