After giving a 91-year-old Connecticut veteran an undesirable discharge in 1948 for being gay, an Air Force board has informed him that it has corrected his military records to show that he served honorably.

H. Edward Spires of Norwalk received word of the change on Friday from the Air Force Board for the Correction of Military Records.

"Great elation, of course," Spires said at his reaction to the news. "I wanted to kick the Air Force in the ass for putting me through what they put me through all these years. But I have to forgive and forget."

The board concluded that Spires has "exhausted all remedies provided by existing law or regulations," his application was filed in a timely manner and that "sufficient relevant evidence has been presented to demonstrate the existence of an injustice."

The upgrade makes Spires, who served in the Air Force from 1946 to 1948, eligible for certain veterans' benefits or to be buried with military honors, as the veteran desires. In the fall, he spent three weeks in the hospital with pneumonia.

At the age of 20, Spires enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force (The Air Force did not become its own military branch until 1947), serving as a chaplain's assistant. He achieved the rank of sergeant.

The Veterans Legal Service Clinic at Yale University took on Spires' case, filing a federal lawsuit in District Court in November after attempts to upgrade his discharge were denied.

The lawsuit alleges that after attending an off-base Halloween party in 1947 when he dressed as "that New Oxydol Sparkle," a reference to an advertisement for a laundry detergent, someone at the party recognized him and mistook his costume for drag.

Shortly after, an interrogation of Spires by his superior ended when Spires, at his superior's offering, signed a statement saying he had passively participated in homosexual acts, according to the lawsuit. Spires signed the statement to make the questioning stop, the lawsuit says.

Spires did not speak about the discharge for many years, saying Monday that "you protect your family from scandal."

"This was tantamount to scandal to have a son declared by the military, thrown out of the military because of he was gay. It was a terrible, terrible time," he added.

The repeal in 2010 of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" enabled gays, lesbians and bisexuals to serve openly in the military, and a Department of Defense directive made in accordance with the repeal enabled veterans such as Spires to apply to upgrade their discharges.

Yale law student interns, joined by Spires, his husband, David Rosenberg, an Army veteran, and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., held a news conference the day the lawsuit was filed to call attention to the case. There, Rosenberg, speaking on behalf of his husband, who'd recently been released from the hospital, called on the Air Force to "recognize the honor of Ed's service."

"We hope that in doing so, the U.S. military may send a message to other gay veterans that their service was appreciated and recognized with equality under the law," he added.

Blumenthal, on Monday, echoed similar sentiments in a statement about Spires' upgraded discharge status.

"I'm very gratified for Ed Spires and his spouse, for this decision corrects an incredible injustice. I'm also hopeful and excited for others who were similarly unjustly discharged with less than honorable status simply because of their sexual‎ orientation. I'll continue to fight for them," he said.

As for Spires, "I can now go and conquer bigger giants like Samson," he said, referencing the biblical figure.

j.bergman@theday.com