Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting in on a White House conference call about the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell ( DADT ) . Much is being said about who were the "key players" and how this got done, but in all honesty, it was President Obama who said he was going to repeal DADT, and he kept his word.
As I sat to write this article, I thought about a colonel who knew all too well the pain of revealing who she was and then being told after a decorated service to our country that her service was no longer needed because of her sexual orientation and her honesty.
I wasted no time in asking Col. Grethe Cammermeyer her thoughts about today's announcement to end DADT on Sept. 22. No longer will gay and lesbian soldiers be asked to serve in silence.
Charlene Strong: What does today feel like for you?
Col. Grethe Cammermeyer: It has been a 21-year struggle in my life.
CS: Did you believe this day would come?
Cammermeyer: Many months ago Brian Bond said that he [ President Obama ] would make this happen and I believed him and it did.
CS: What does it mean to you after all these years of waiting?
Cammermeyer: Today is a sense of vindication for the efforts that everyone has put into this repeal. Through all of this hard work, I was deeply moved by such class and dignity of our service members and those involved in making today possible.
CS: What now? Any thoughts?
Cammermeyer: I am glad I can really retire now [ and that of course is a lie ] .
CS: Looking back, what are some thoughts that stick with you?
Cammermeyer: Throughout all of this I always believed that DADT had to have been unconstitutional, but it always seemed every time any discussion about repealing, something would stand in the way and we kept waiting. In 1993 I was at the March on Washington and Jesse Jackson made it through the crowd to speak to me and I found it hard to hear when he said to me 'You don't think you are going to get a repeal of DADT'. Little did he know that those words hit me like a kick in the gut.
CS: Why do you think Jesse Jackson said that?
Cammermeyer: He equated it to the civil-rights movement. He understood the process and how long the civil-rights movement in this country [ would take ] .
CS: Did it ever seem impossible, or that it would take this long?
Cammermeyer: Had we known it would have taken so long I wonder if we would have had the stamina to carry on, but we kept persevering and pushing along until we got the right combination in place [ Mullins and Gates ] with Obama in the White House.
CS: It is hard to ignore the wars that are still being fought and the causalities we hear on the news. It seems impossible to be seeing this happening in a time in our country when so much is being asked of our armed forces.
Cammermeyer: War seems to have brought home the sacrifice and cost of what war produces in casualties of our service members which, I believe, certainly helped in showing that sacrifice is sacrifice regardless of sexual orientation. A solider is taught to serve and that is now what Gay and Lesbian service members will now be able to do with honor and dignity.
This interview was reprinted with permission from The Seattle Lesbian.
