Lez Keep It Real

This week’s Notable Lesbian is:

Margarethe “Grethe” Cammermeyer
March 24, 1942 -

Margarethe is a former colonel in the Washington National Guard and a gay rights activist. She was born in Oslo, Norway, and became a United States citizen in 1960. In 1961 she joined the Army Student Nurse Program and received a B.S. in Nursing in 1963 from the University of Maryland. In response to a question during a routine security clearance interview in 1989, Margarethe unknowingly disclosed that she was a lesbian. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was not yet in effect at the time, and the National Guard began military discharge proceedings against her. On June 11, 1992, she was honorably discharged from the military. A lawsuit was filed against the decision in civil court. In June 1994, Judge Thomas Zilly of the Federal District Court in Seattle ruled her discharge, and the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military, unconstitutional. Margarethe returned to the National Guard and served as one of the only officially accepted openly gay or lesbian people in the military until her retirement in 1997.

Interesting tid bit:
Margarethe met her partner, Diane Divelbess, in 1988, when she was 46 — after she had ended a 15-year marriage to a man and had four sons. A television movie about Cammermeyer’s story, Serving in Silence, was made in 1995, with Glenn Close starring as Cammermeyer. Its content was largely taken from the book of the same name.

“I have learned that if I am uncomfortable, it is where I need to be. It is only by challenging others with our humanity that we will become human in their eyes. I will continue to speak out and I hope you do too.” - Margarethe Cammermeyer

Order the book, Serving in Silence.

If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, e-mail me at lyndsey.darcangelo@451press.net or use the contact form above and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.

[tag]notable lesbian, margarethe cammermeyer, grethe cammermeyer, serving in silence, don’t ask don’t tell, washington national guard, university of maryland, glenn close[/tags]