Queer Heroes Northwest 2017:
Linda Campbell
One of the benefits of military service in the U.S.A. is burial
of one’s self and one’s spouse in a national cemetery, when the
time comes.
Unless, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel Linda Campbell
discovered when she started asking questions, that spouse was a lesbian.
Linda Campbell and Nancy Lynchild were married in Multnomah County in 2004, and again in Canada in 2010. Nancy died just before Christmas in 2012 after a 12-year-struggle with cancer.
Given that timeline, some advance planning was possible. One
concern was a burial arrangement that would eventually accommodate both women. Linda yearned to share a grave at Willamette National Cemetery with Nancy, her legal spouse.
That was apparently not to be: the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act specifically mentioned burial among the benefits limited to heterosexual couples.
Linda Campbell was closeted during her active military service (1968-1972), and didn’t see herself as much of a fighter. However, a chance encounter with Brad Avakian, Oregon’s Commissioner of Labor and Industries, gave her hope. Avakian involved his friend, Senator Jeff Merkley, and personally approached Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs retired Army General Eric Shinseki. After a 9-month campaign, and more than a month after Nancy’s death, Linda received word that her request had been granted. She was able to bury Nancy at Willamette National Cemetery where eventually the two will be united, together forever.
It was the first time in US history that a same sex spouse was interred in a national cemetery, thus leading the way for other married veterans and their spouses to be so honored.
In another first, Linda sought and received approval for a new symbol – a dancing sandhill crane – to be engraved on their headstone. None of the VA’s 55 other approved symbols, from the Christian cross to the Hammer of Thor – seemed to fit. The word “spouse” required VA approval, as well.
It was impressive work, setting a sweeping precedent, for someone who described herself as a lifelong “rule-follower.”
We begin announcing a hero per day on June 1, and the heroes' posters are unveiled in a reception at Q Center on June 15, 2017, 5-7PM. The public is invited. Queer Heroes' posters are displayed all year at Q Center.
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