Last Updated on January 6, 2024 by Kittredge Cherry
Navy Seaman Allen Schindler brought international attention to LGBTQ people in the military when he was murdered for being gay on Oct. 27, 1992.
Schindler’s murder remains relevant as U.S. lawmakers consider banning transgender people from military service, based on a directive from President Donald Trump in July 2017.
Soon after Schindler was killed, President Bill Clinton and others cited his case in the debate about gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the military. Discussions led to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in 1993. That policy ended in 2011, when the U.S. military decided to stop discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.
A book about Schindler’s murder by an eyewitness was published in January 2019. “Dark Liberty: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by Jonathan Witte, a shipmate who knew Schindler and witnessed his murder, provides a detailed, never-before-published account of the murder and its aftermath.
The hate crime against Schindler is portrayed in an epic painting by gay artist Matthew Wettlaufer, who makes connections between anti-LGBTQ violence and other human rights struggles in his art. The image is at the top of this post. Wettlaufer discusses his painting of Schindler and his other LGBTQ-related political art in the previous post “New paintings honor gay martyrs.”
“The Murder of Allen Schindler” by Matthew Wettlaufer
There is a long tradition of same-sex love in the military, dating back at least to the Roman empire. The most famous example is Saints Sergius and Bacchus, third-century Roman soldiers, Christian martyrs and men who loved each other. They are considered patron saints of gay men. Paired military saints were especially popular in the Middle Ages. They also include two other third-century couples: Saints Maurice and Theofredus of the Theban legion, and Saints Demetrius of Thessaloniki and George the Dragon Slayer of Lydda. Other military veterans in the LGBTQ saints series include Harvey Milk.
“Seaman” by Kevin Gomez (2016) shows a handsome sailor as a religious saint. Prints are available at his Etsy shop.
Born in 1969, Schindler served as a radioman petty officer third class. He was brutally beaten to death because he was gay by two of his shipmates in a public restroom in Sasebo, Japan.
At first the Navy tried to cover up the circumstances of Schindler’s death. The movie “Any Mother’s Son
Many LGBTQ people served in the military
Schindler is not the only LGBTQ member of the U.S. military to be murdered by their fellow soldiers because they were queer. Barry Winchell, an infantry solider, was beaten to death while he slept by fellow soldier Calvin Glover for dating a transgender woman, Calpernia Addams. Their story is told in the 2003 drama “Soldier’s Girl.” Winchell died on July 6, 1999, at age 21.
Other LGBTQ military members broke new ground by standing up against anti-LGBTQ policies. They include Leonard Matlovich, a Vietnam veteran who outed himself on the cover of Time magazine in 1975 to protest military policies against LGBTQ people, and Margarethe Cammermeyer, a colonel who was discharged when she declared herself a lesbian in 1989 and successfully challenged it, becoming the highest-ranking official to acknowledge their homosexuality while serving in the U.S. military.
Oct. 27 also happens to be Navy Day in the United States. Schindler’s murder gives new meaning to the traditional hymn for the safety of seafarers, with lyrics such as:
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
Books on LGBTQ people in the military
A chapter on Schindler is included in “Unfinished Lives: Reviving the Memories of LGBTQ Hate Crimes Victims” by Stephen Sprinkle.
“Boys at Sea: Sodomy, Indecency, and Courts Martial in Nelson’s Navy” by B. Burg
“Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy Seal’s Journey to Coming Out Transgender” by Kristin Beck and Anne Speckhard
“Serving in Silence” by Margarethe Cammermeyer
“Matlovich: The Good Soldier” by Mike Hippler, biography of Leonard Matlovich, the first U.S. military member to come out as gay
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Links related to LGBTQ people in the military
Transgender personnel in the United States military (Wikipedia)
American Veterans for Equal Rights
For gay couples hoping for a military burial, the fight for love doesn’t end with death (CNN.com)
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Top image credit:
Allen R. Schindler, Jr., c. 1988-1992 (Wikipedia)
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This post is part of the LGBTQ Saints series by Kittredge Cherry. Traditional and alternative saints, people in the Bible, LGBTQ martyrs, authors, theologians, religious leaders, artists, deities and other figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and our allies are covered.
This article was originally published on Q Spirit in October 2017, was expanded with new material over time, and was most recently updated on Oct. 26, 2023.
Copyright © Kittredge Cherry. All rights reserved.
Qspirit.net presents the Jesus in Love Blog on LGBTQ spirituality.
“Paired” saints who were executed together were not homosexual just because they died as part of the same group. For example, even Wikipedia’s article on Sts Sergius and Bacchus admits that historians have rejected the claim that they were homosexual lovers, and Wikipedia is pretty liberal.
Actual quote from Wikipedia:
“This closeness led the historian John Boswell to suggest that their relationship was a romantic one; though other historians have widely rejected this theory, it has led to popular veneration of Sergius and Bacchus in the gay Christian community.… Boswell’s methodology and conclusions have been disputed by many historians.” With seven footnotes
I saw this film on British TV. They should have hanged them to what they done to the lad who was serving his country. Nobody should go through to what Allen shindler did. Times may have changed but the fear will never go away. My thoughts are with his family. His mother deserves a medal for what she acchived for all the hard work she has done. I hope the person who done this will play on his mind for the rest of his life.
I just saw this story on ID. I cannot believe the military allowed this to happen. Those capable of so much hate should not be allowed to serve in any capacity. Those in command should have been dishonerably discharged. This was a young man serving his country proudly. My heart aches for his mother.