Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer, Retired, a bronze star winner, made history in 1991 when she challenged the US military due to her expulsion because she was a lesbian. Her story, Serving in Silence, was one of the first television movies to center around a gay character.

As a military nurse and immigrant from Norway, Grethe has faced many challenges in her life. She joined the United States Army to serve the country that she loved so dearly, the country that turned her away once it found out that she was a dyke.

During a routine interview for a top-secret military clearance on April 28, 1989, Cammermeyer was asked a question about homosexuality. As a Vietnam veteran, recipient of the Bronze Star and V.A. Nurse of the Year, Cammermeyer believed that her unblemished career could save her.

Describing the experience in her book, "Serving In Silence," she stated, "Curiously, I don't remember the exact wording, though the question would change my life. I really had no idea that day in 1989 what the consequences of my honesty could possibly be." Feeling as if she had no control over the situation, she did the only thing she thought she could. She told the truth.

According to Cammermeyer, she believed that the Constitution that she had sworn to defend as a soldier and a nurse would protect her in return, because she had served it for 23 years with all the heart and dedication she had in her.

But it did not. After two and a half years of investigations, Cammermeyer was dismissed from the army on June 12, 1992. That same day, she headed straight to her lawyer and filed a suit in court against the United States military.

She believed that by challenging their decision, she could make them see the error of their ways, could make them see that she was fit to serve her country, as she had been for the past 23 years, before the officials knew about her sexuality.  Finally, in July of 1994, the court declared the military's decision to discharge Cammermeyer unconstitutional and she was reinstated to her former position.

In 1997, Cammermeyer retired from military service.  In 1998 she lost an election to  represent Washington state's 2nd Congressional District.

Today Cammermeyer is a strong advocate of gay rights. "For me, coming out of the closet to admit that I was a lesbian was a huge risk," commented Cammermeyer. "It was a risk because I could have lost my children, my job, my friends and even my patients. I was alienated because I said four words: "I AM A LESBIAN!"

Grethe Cammermeyer's Official Web Site

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