When Commanding Officer Bob Claunch first met and fell in love with Army Sgt. Jack Reavley while stationed in Munich, Germany in 1950, it was “highly impossible that [the two] could have all the freedom that gay people have today,” Claunch said. Though they are still seeking widespread acceptance, the two say things are getting easier with each passing year.

A documentary, Bob and Jack’s 52-Year Adventure, tells the story of the much-scrutinized romance between partners Claunch, 81, and Reavley, 83 — who was married at the time — that began more than half a century ago when the two started a relationship in the Army.

Despite facing noticeable opposition to their relationship in the past, the two have gained a greater acceptance as a couple during the past 10 years, Claunch said. They felt pressure to seek honorable discharges after rumors about their relationship began circling throughout their unit, and it was not until after they received honorable discharges in the same year that they first confronted their unit.

“He was my commanding officer, and it was rather unheard of that an enlisted man and an officer would be together,” Claunch said. “It was a small unit, and it was a very professional unit. He and I decided that we had to be together to the point of . . . where it was difficult for us to stay together.”

When they returned to the United States, Reavley, who had two children with his wife, got divorced and moved in with Claunch. In the more than 50 years they have been together, Claunch said there has been a noticeable change in the way they are received.

“Ten, 20 and 30 years ago, we had to be very circumspect to make sure people didn’t think we were gay and two men living together,” Claunch said. “The concept has very much changed.”

Stu Maddox, the documentary’s director, said he filmed the couple to dispel the notion that gay couples cannot maintain legitimate relationships.

“To break the cycle, young gay men and women not only need the right to marry, they need to see people like Bob and Jack,” Maddox said in an email.

Maddox said gay men and women have been “programmed” to believe they are incapable of maintaining long-lasting relationships.

“The result are people who eventually give up, grow old alone and die earlier than their straight counterparts because they didn’t have the support group that they would have had growing old with someone,” he said.

Though they did not express interest in marriage, Claunch and Reavley both said they want entitlement to the benefits straight married couples enjoy under the law.

“As far as both of us standing up in front of a preacher or a rabbi to say, ‘You are man and man,’ we are not interested. “We don’t care about getting married, per se,'” Reavley said. “What we want is recognition for our partnership, just as men and women are having. We want medical [insurance recognition]. We want social security. We want everything that everyone else gets.”