Grethe Cammermeyer
Grethe Cammermeyer immigrated to the US from Nazi occupied Norway. She joined the military at age 19 & after serving 7 years active duty & graduating from college, she married a fellow officer. Pregnant with her first child, she left the military & raised 4 sons. After her divorce, she returned to the Army Reserves, then transferred to the National Guard. Awarded the Bronze Star in Vietnam, she holds a BS in Nursing, a MA & PhD in Nursing Science & received Univ of Washington School of Nursing’s 1995 Distinguished Alumni Award. A Clinical Nurse Specialist for 25 years in the VA Medical Health Care System, she was named VA Nurse of the Year in ’97 & retired from the military as Washington State Chief Nurse after 31 years. Before Don’t Ask - Don’t Tell, Grethe challenged the military’s anti-gay policy after being discharged for disclosing she was a lesbian during a security clearance investigation. A TV movie from her autobiography Serving in Silence earned the Peabody award & 3 Emmys.
