By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III on Monday dedicated Britain’s first national memorial to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender troops, 25 years after the U.K. ended a ban on homosexuality in the armed forces.

The king, who is the ceremonial head of the armed forces, laid flowers at the monument in the National Memorial Arboretum in central England at a service attended by scores of serving troops and veterans. The sculpture takes the form of a crumpled bronze letter bearing words from personnel who were affected by the ban.

Between 1967 and 2000, soldiers, sailors and air force personnel who were — or were thought to be — gay or transgender were labeled unfit to serve and dismissed or discharged from the forces. Some were stripped of medals or lost

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