Background
In February 1919, Thomas Brunelle and Chief Machinist’s Mate Ervin Arnold were both patients at the Naval Training Station Hospital in Newport. Brunelle told Arnold the details of the subculture to which he belonged in Newport, centered at the Army and Navy YMCA and the Newport Art Club, where local civilian homosexuals regularly made contact with one another and with naval personnel. Arnold undertook a personal investigation to verify Brunelle's account and documented his findings. He then presented his Navy superiors with detailed reports of effeminate behavior, cross-dressing, and parties involving sexual activity, liquor and cocaine.
Read more about this topic: Newport Sex Scandal
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