Margarethe Cammermeyer

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Margarethe Cammermeyer
Born (1942-03-24) March 24, 1942 (age 82)
Oslo, Norway
CitizenshipNorway and U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore (BS)
University of Washington (MS, PhD)
Known forLGBT rights activism

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

National Guard and became a gay rights activist
.

Early life and education

Born in

Army Nurse Corps as a student. She received a B.S. in nursing in 1963 from the University of Maryland. At the University of Washington
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

don't ask don't tell
" policy was in effect, until her retirement in 1997.

A television movie about Cammermeyer's story,

Serving in Silence, was made in 1995, with Glenn Close
starring as Cammermeyer. Its content was largely taken from Cammermeyer's autobiography of the same name.

After retirement, Cammermeyer ran for the

Republican incumbent Jack Metcalf
.

In June 2010, she was appointed to the

Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, a committee which is appointed by the United States Secretary of Defense and which reports to the United States Department of Defense.[1]

The Point Foundation announced plans to honor Cammermeyer with its Point Legend Award in April 2011.[2]

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.[3]

See also

  • Sexual orientation and the United States military

References

  1. ^ "2010 DACOWITS Committee Members Announced" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs). June 2, 2010. Archived from the original on August 29, 2010. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
  2. ^ Cohen, Cammermeyer Honored by Point Foundation Archived January 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Burnett, Justin (December 9, 2012). "Same-sex couples celebrate, wed on historic day in Island County". South Whidbey Record. Retrieved December 10, 2012.

External links

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