As Memorial Day was celebrated around the U.S. last weekend, most tributes centered around the recent war in Iraq, or past wars such as Vietnam, World War II or Korea.
In south suburban Steger, a small gathering of American Veterans for Equal Rights, formerly the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Veterans of America, helped Dorothy Hadjys-Holman remember her son, Allen Schindler, who is buried in a humble grave there.
Schindler was not killed in battle. He was killed by two fellow shipmen who acted on homophobic rage more than 11 years ago.
AVER the previous day marked the holiday along with tens of thousands of others at the City of Chicago's 7th Annual Memorial Day Parade downtown. AVER was joined by menbers of the Lakeside Pride Band to mark the role GLBTs have played in serving the country.
At the graveside service for Schindler, Hadjys-Holman expressed her appreciation for those who continued to honor her son.
'You don't know what it means to me that you all come out 11 years later to honor and remember. It has been a rough year. [Convicted killer Terry] Helvey had his first real parol hearing and we haven't yet heard the results. I had two surgeries. And then the war started and brought back so many memories.
'I remember, when first I kissed my son goodbye, that I didn't know if he would be coming back and I just bawled. When I saw him off two years later, I didn't cry. The war was over,' Hadjys-Holman said, thinking her son was safe. 'And two months later he was dead. And now all I can think of when I hear of the people killed in this war is that someone is going to be knocking on a mother's door to say a son won't be coming back, or a husband or a father.'
The service included a salute to the American flag, with remarks by AVER members including James Darby, Patrick Bova, Bruce Inman, Ken Sholes, David Digel, and Michele Parisi, who laid a wreath on Schindler's grave.
AVER also participated at the Memorial Day Wreathlaying Saturday at The Eternal Flame in Daley Plaza, Dearborn & Washington. In June, a special GLBT veterans tribute is planned for downtown Chicago.
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— Also reporting: Jean Albright
