Margarethe Cammermeyer
On the historic day in December 2010 when President Obama signed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” into law, Margarethe Cammermeyer led the ceremony attendees in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. That pledge is something the retired Army Colonel and nurse takes very seriously. She served in the military for 31 years, having fought a discharge in 1992 after it was revealed that she was a lesbian. She was reinstated two years later, a saga that became famous in the 1995 film adaptation of her autobiography Serving in Silence, starring Glenn Close. Cammermeyer had a concurrent career as a nurse in the military, then in VA hospitals, and later at an adult family home, where she has worked to improve the lives of others. “Likewise I have spent the past 21 years for gay and lesbian service members to be acknowledged for their contributions,” she says. “There is no greater validation of our humanity than to be able to live our truth. I hope to have lived by example that others may be free, and that the Liberty and Justice for all in our Pledge of Allegiance does apply to all.” –SJ
