Stephen Close was just 20 years-old when he was forced to serve six months in a military jail.
The now 58-year-old from Salford, was imprisoned simply for being gay.
Stephen was accused of gross indecency and faced a brutal interrogation and medical examination after he was found in the arms of a male soldier in 1983, the Mirror reports.
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At the time, he was serving in Berlin - guarding Adolf Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess in Spandau jail.
Now, Stephen is joining other LBGT campaigners who are demanding royal pardons for hundreds of servicemen and women thrown in military jails for being gay.
Labour says up to 20,000 others quietly dismissed from the armed forces because of their sexuality must have medals returned.
They were ripped off their uniforms by military police sergeants in shaming rituals, and veterans were never allowed to wear them again.
Although homosexuality was legalised in Britain in 1967 it was a criminal offence in the military until 2000.
The Tories have rejected a Labour amendment to the Armed Forces Bill now going through Parliament which would speed up justice for those who have suffered for the past 21 years.
RAF medic and Gulf War veteran David Bonney, 52, from Plymouth, Devon, was the last serviceman to be court-martialed and jailed for six months in October 1993, for being gay.
He signed up at 17 unsure of his sexual preference and his first homosexual encounter was with a Norwegian Red Cross worker he met while working at the RAF’s hospital in Bahrain during the 1991 Gulf War.
David broke off the relationship without explanation for fear of his superiors finding out.
"I struggled to explain to the sergeant I was sharing a room with why this man was crying in the corridor outside," David said, speaking to the Mirror.
"I wish I could see him again to say sorry for what I did."
Back in Britain, David was hounded for two years by investigators who found a copy of Gay Times in a search of his room – and he eventually admitted he was homosexual.
That meant having to declare a criminal record in civilian life each time he applied for nursing jobs.
And his forces pension when he reaches 60 will be £200 a month less than it would have been had he completed the nine years service he signed up for.
David added: "Anybody who went through what I did should get a royal pardon. And I want compensation and an apology for losing my private life."
For Stephen Close, it was as recent as 2013 that he received a knock on his door from Greater Manchester Police asking for a DNA sample for the national database because of his record.
A campaign led to it later being destroyed and Stephen’s record erased – but only after it had cost him his manager’s job with a window cleaning firm.
"I wish for a day when we are all pardoned, all protected and valued and free and equal," he said.
Former Navy Lt Commander Craig Jones, who now heads up campaigning charity Fighting with Pride, said: "We want an apology from Boris Johnson on behalf of the nation for the shameful treatment of LGBT+ veterans.
"And there should be royal pardons for those who were convicted."
Last week he and fellow campaigner Flt Lt Caroline Paige took their demands direct to the PM at a Pride reception at No10.
A precedent was set by Bletchley Park codebreaker Alan Turing, who received a posthumous pardon in 2013. He was chemically castrated in 1952 after a conviction for gross indecency with another man.
Ironically, Turing’s face now adorns the new £50 notes released last month – such has been the shift in people’s attitudes and understanding.
Many of those dismissed from the forces were thrown out under the catch-all "conduct prejudicial to military discipline."
That means they are not allowed to wear medals rightfully won, have lost out on pensions, and cannot wear items of uniform such as berets at ceremonial occasions such as Remembrance Sunday.
Some did not even go through a formal procedure and were told to leave the forces by their commanding officers without any fuss.
Others were entrapped by being given far-flung postings and only 24 hours to get there.
The hope was they would miss the deadline and be declared AWOL – absent without leave.
Now Labour is backing Fighting with Pride’s demand that Ministry of Justice files be opened up to find out just how many gay service personnel were discriminated against in this way.
Labour’s Dan Carden said: "This is a national disgrace. The ban inflicted staggering cruelty on men and some women who stepped forward to serve their country.
"They were arrested, searched and questioned by officers trained for wartime interrogation.
"They were subjected to shameful and degrading medical inspections. Heterosexual men were falsely accused and lost careers and, in some cases, homes and families."
Veterans were told 17 months ago they could reapply for their medals to be restored.
Six have done so but have still yet to receive them.
"The MoD must undertake a painstaking trawl of records going back decades to ensure they were thrown out for their sexuality and not for any other reason.
Craig Jones added: "The UK’s armed forces are now the best in the world for LGBT inclusion.
"They are welcomed and respected at every level of command.
"But there must be restorative justice for the past. It was a shameful breach of the armed forces covenant and they were treated with unique cruelty."
He wants similar compensation schemes set up as the ones which now operate in Canada, the US and Germany.
Shadow armed forces minister Stephen Morgan said: "The Government must move further and faster towards justice. Restoration of medals is an important first step, but application numbers are low and the Government has done too little to encourage those affected to come forward."
Veterans minister Leo Docherty said: "The historical ban on homosexuality in the armed forces was absolutely wrong and there was horrific injustice as a consequence of it.
"We will address this injustice with compassion and deep urgency."
The MoD said it is considering extending the scope of an existing disregard scheme for those with convictions.
