Margarethe "Grethe" Cammermeyer (born March 24, 1942) is a Norwegian-American former military officer. She served as a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

and became a

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

Early life and education

Born in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway, she became a United States citizen in 1960. In 1961 she joined the Army Nurse Corps as a student. She received a B.S. in nursing in 1963 from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. At the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

School of Nursing, she earned a master's degree in 1976 and a Ph.D. in 1991.

Career and activism

She had a 15-year marriage to Harvey Hawken and they had four sons. She divorced in 1980. In 1988, when she was 46, she met the woman who later became her wife, Diane Divelbess. In 1989, responding to a question during a routine security clearance interview, she disclosed that she is a

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

. The National Guard began

military discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...

proceedings against her. On June 11, 1992, she was honorably discharged. Cammermeyer filed a lawsuit against the decision in

civil court Civil law may refer to: * Civil law (common law), the part of law that concerns private citizens and legal persons * Civil law (legal system), or continental law, a legal system originating in continental Europe and based on Roman law ** Private la ...

. In June 1994, Judge

Thomas Zilly Thomas Samuel Zilly (born January 1, 1935) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Education and career Zilly was born in Detroit. He received a Bachelor of Arts degre ...

of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Washington United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

ruled that her discharge and the ban on gays and lesbians serving in the military were unconstitutional. She returned to the National Guard and served as one of the few openly gay or lesbian people in the U.S. military while the "

don't ask don't tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of homosexual people. Instituted during the Clinton administration, the policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, ...

" policy was in effect, until her retirement in 1997. A television movie about Cammermeyer's story, ''

Serving in Silence ''Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story'' is a 1995 American television film that aired on NBC on February 6, 1995 and stars Glenn Close and Judy Davis Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress. In a career sp ...

'', was made in 1995, with

Glenn Close Glenda Veronica Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. In a career spanning over five decades on Glenn Close on screen and stage, screen and stage, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Glenn Close, numerous ac ...

starring as Cammermeyer. Its content was largely taken from Cammermeyer's autobiography of the same name. After retirement, Cammermeyer ran for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

Washington's 2nd congressional district Washington's 2nd congressional district includes all of Island County, Washington, Island, San Juan County, Washington, San Juan, Skagit County, Washington, Skagit, and Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom counties, as well as coastal western Snoh ...

in 1998. She won the Democratic

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, but lost in the general election to Republican incumbent Jack Metcalf. In June 2010, she was appointed to the

Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) is one of the oldest Department of Defense (DoD) federal advisory committees and was established in 1951 by then- Secretary of Defense (SecDef) George C. Marshall. The committee is ...

, a committee which is appointed by the

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...

and which reports to the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

. The Point Foundation announced plans to honor Cammermeyer with its Point Legend Award in April 2011. In 2012, after same-sex marriage was legalized in Washington state, Cammermeyer and her wife Diane Divelbess became the first same-sex couple to get a license in

Island County Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 86,857. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor. The county's name reflects the fact that it is compos ...

References

External links

Official site

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glbtq encyclopedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cammermeyer, Margarethe Bisexual military personnel American LGBTQ military personnel Bisexual women politicians University of Maryland, Baltimore alumni University of Washington School of Nursing alumni 1942 births Living people American LGBTQ rights activists American bisexual politicians American bisexual women Norwegian bisexual women Cammermeyer, Margarethe Norwegian emigrants to the United States American military personnel discharged for homosexuality Women in Washington (state) politics Washington (state) Democrats Women in the United States Army United States Army Nurse Corps officers Naturalized citizens of the United States 21st-century American women

Early life and education

Career and activism

See also

References

External links