COL Margarethe Cammermeyer USA retired

Margarethe Cammermeyer is the highest-ranking officer to have challenged the military’s anti-gay policy prior to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law of 1993. Having served in the military for 25 years, being Chief Nurse of the Washington State National Guard, a PhD nurse and military Colonel, she was discharged after stating in a Top Secret Security Clearance that she was a lesbian.

Cammermeyer successfully won reinstatement into the military when the Federal District Court ruled that her separation was unconstitutional. Colonel Cammermeyer returned to her previous National Guard position and ultimately retired in 1997 after having served for 31 years.

Colonel Cammermeyer’s autobiography Serving in Silence (with Chris Fisher, 1994) set the stage for the subsequent Emmy Award winning made for television movie Serving in Silence with Glenn Close.