Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer
Biography

Margarethe (Grethe) Cammermeyer was born in Oslo, Norway in I942. The oldest of four children she moved with her family to Washington DC at the age of nine and took the oath of US citizenship in 1960. Mid-way through college at the University of Maryland, she enlisted in the Army student nurse program with dreams of someday becoming the Chief Nurse of the Army Nurse Corp. In 1965 she married fellow soldier Harvey Hawken whom she met while stationed in Germany. She served fourteen months as head nurse of a medical and later neurosurgical intensive care unit at an evacuation hospital in Vietnam. During her active duty years she served in Texas, Georgia, Germany, Virginia, Vietnam and Washington.

After Vietnam she and her husband settled in Seattle, Washington. Grethe was forced to leave the military with the birth of her first son in 1968 since women were not permitted to have dependents under 16. When that regulation was changed in 1972, she returned to the military, this time the Army reserves, ultimately achieving the rank of Colonel in 1987. She completed the Nurse Corps Basic and Advance Course, the Command and General Staff Course and Combat Casualty Course.

In 1988 Cammermeyer accepted the position of Chief Nurse of the Washington State National Guard. One year later she applied for an upgrade of her security clearance to apply for the War college to become competitive for a higher military position. During that interview in 1989, she told the military "I am a lesbian" as part of the top secret clearance investigation. In 1990 she disclosed that information to her family, children and civilian employer because she was going to challenge her threatened discharge from the military. In 1991 the military board recommended she be discharged after 26 years of service, based on her own statement. She was separated front the military despite an exemplary military and civilian professional record, on 11 June 1992.

She filed suit in Federal District Court in Seattle challenging the existing ban on homosexuals in the military and requested reinstatement. In June 1994, after 25 months separation, Judge Zilly ruled the policy, which forced her separation, was unconstitutional and based on prejudice. Colonel Cammermeyer was reinstated to the National Guard in June of 1994 and served as Chief Nurse of the 164th MASH until May 1996. She retired from the military on 23 March 1997. In November of 1997, the Justice Department denied a motion to vacate the decision. Today Cammermeyer's ruling is case law.

Dr. Cammermeyer earned her BS from the University of Maryland in 1963 and immediately was called to active duty. During her military career she worked in medical surgical nursing and education for a number of years. However, it was in Vietnam that she first began working with neurologically impaired patients whom have remained the focus of her clinical interest and research ever since. She earned a Master of Arts from the University of Washington in 1976, specializing in neuroscience nursing with focus on epilepsy and cognitive impairment. After five years as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Epilepsy at the VAMC, Seattle, WA, she transferred to the VAMC in San Francisco, CA. There she coordinated the care of brain tumor patients and was the Neuro-oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist. As a result of that work, Grethe was the first recipient of the Administrators Award for Excellence in Nursing in 1985. Grethe was selected out of 34,000 registered nurses in the VA.

She returned to Washington where she completed her Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1991. In 1995 she was the Distinguished Alumna from the University of Washington. She retired from American Lake VAMC, Tacoma Washington in 1996 after 10 years as Clinical Specialist in Neuroscience and Sleep Research.

Numerous awards and honors, including the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service during the Vietnam War mark Grethe's military service and military career. Woman of the Year by the Woman's Army Corps Veterans, the Meritorious Service Medal and Nurse of the Year by the Veterans Affairs Department in 1985.

The National Organization of Women recognized her with the Women of Power award and she is also listed in Who's Who of Women (1993-1994), and was awarded the Honorary Human Rights Award by the American Nurses Association, and Humanitarian Award by the Privacy Fund. In 1995, she was awarded The Hannah Solomon award by the Jewish Women League, and was selected the 1995 Distinguished Alumna from the University of Washington School of Nursing.

Her book, Serving in Silence, was released in October by Viking Press in 1994. The book was recognized by the National Education Association and was named to Outstanding Book on the subject of human rights in North America (The Gustavus Myers Center for the study of human rights in North America). The made for television movie of the same name, starred Glenn Close as Colonel Cammermeyer, Barbara Streisand as one of the executive producers. The movie received 3 Emmy Awards, was nominated for 3 Golden Globe awards and received the prestigious Peabody award.

Grethe resides on Whidbey Island with her life partner Diane, Diane's mother, and their three dogs. They are frequently visited by Grethe's four sons and five grandchildren. She continues to speak out on behalf of civil and human rights for all and is currently working on an educational film about youth and new book. In November l997, Grethe declared her candidacy for Congress, running as a Democrat for the 2nd Congressional District seat from Washington to the House of Representatives