News Item

Transgender Veterans Asked To Share Their Stories

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) recently unveiled a new area on their website dedicated to LGBT veterans. In collaboration with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER), HRC is collecting stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender veterans, some of which will be posted on their web site at www.hrc.org in honor of Veterans Day, November 11, 2002.

The project, "Documenting Courage: Veterans Speak Out," is part of a continuing effort to better inform the public, Congress and the administration about the many contributions made by LGBT service members.

"It is time to recognize the contributions of LGBT men and women who have given their time, talent and, in some cases, their lives in service to their country," said HRC Senior Policy Advocate John Vezina, who specializes in military issues. "The 'Documenting Courage' project is a way for us to preserve the stories of LGBT American vets for future generations and to demonstrate the undeniable contribution the LGBT community has made in service to the country."

The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition supports this project and urges transgender veterans all over the country to submit their stories to ensure that the transgender community is well represented in this project. Stories can be submitted via the form.

NTAC asks participating veterans to also paste a copy of the completed form in an E-mail sent to NTAC's Veterans Affairs Committee at veterans.affairs@ntac.org. Stories that cover all aspects of military service, regardless of whether they are good stories or tragic, are encouraged.

In addition to military stories, NTAC would also like to hear from transgender veterans -- particularly pre- and post-operative transsexuals -- regarding treatment by the Department of Veteran Affairs health system. Of specific interest are responses to quality of health care afforded veterans once out of the military and living in the new gender role, such as:

Have local facilities, offices, and VA personnel treated the veteran with respect?

Has the veteran been denied any medical services because of transgender status?

If denied services, has this impacted the veteran's health, financial situation, or ability to transition?

These are as important as the stories of how one fared while serving in the military, knowing that one was "gender different."

Monica Helms, Chair of NTAC's Veterans Affairs Committee states, "The American people and Congress need to see that LGBT people have served with honor and have been there for their country in every war this great nation has fought. Many have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country, even though their country did not want them to serve."

"Always remember this one important phrase," Helms says to America's transgendered veterans, "We served proudly, too. And, we will again."