Abraham Lincoln National
Cemetery
Monument
to LGBT
Veterans
Dedication
Date
-
May
25,
2015
Memorial
Day
by James Darby |
|
On
Monday,
May
25,
2015
the
Chicago
chapter
of
AVER
dedicated
a
monument
to
lgbt
veterans
at
the
Abraham
Lincoln
National
Cemetery,
the
largest
cemetery
in
the
U.S.
in
the
VA
cemetery
system.
This
is
the
first
monument
in a
National
VA
cemetery
dedicated
solely
to
lgbt
veterans
by
lgbt
veterans.
It
rained
heavily
in
the
morning
but
by
noon
it
cleared
up
and
turned
out
to
be
an
absolutely
beautiful
day.
More
than
100
guests,
friends
and
visitors
started
streaming
into
the
Valley
of
Monuments
area
guided
by
35
flag
carrying
members
of
Organized
Chaos,
a
Chicago
based
Women’s
Motorcycle
Club.
A
half
dozen
TV
stations
had
already
set
up
their
equipment
before
everyone
got
there.
ALNC
is
located
50
miles
southwest
of
Chicago,
so
AVER
Chicago
chartered
a
free
bus.
Once
the
bus
arrived
President
Reinhart
started
the
ceremony.
Eight
members
of
AV
ER
posted
the
colors,
the
Pledge
of
Allegiance
was
done
by
everyone
and
the
National
Anthem
was
sung
by
the
Chicago
Gay
Men’s
Chorus.
The
Invocation
was
given
by
three
members
of
the
clergy
-
Father
Chris
Meyers,
a
Catholic
Priest,
Reverend
Wayne
Bradley,
a
Protestant
Minister
and
Cindy
Enger,
a
Jewish
Rabbi.
All
three
spoke
so
eloquently
that
we
could
see
tears
flowing
from
many
of
those
present.
It
was
an
extremely
emotional
experience
for
everyone.
President
Lee
Reinhart
welcomed
everyone
and
thanked
them
for
coming
out
and
participating
in
this
historic
event.
He
spoke
about
the
long
four
year
struggle
that
Chicago
AVER
endured
to
get
to
this
point,
VP/Secretary
Jim
Darby
spoke
about
the
23
year
history
of
AVER
mentioning
the
many
battles
that
gay
veterans
have
won
and
lost
to
get
to
this
point
in
time.
He
also
said
that
when
members
initially
brought
up
the
idea
of
the
monument
four
years
ago
he
asked
for
a
volunteer
to
take
over
the
project.
Stanley
Jenczyk
volunteered.
Board
member
Stanley
Jenczyk
took
to
the
podium
to a
wild
round
of
applause.
Stanley
spoke
briefly
about
the
travails
of
working
for
four
years
with
four
different
Directors
to
finally
reach
an
agreement
last
fall
with
Director
Sean
Baumgartner.
He
said
her
was
pleased
that
after
such
a
long
time
we
have
finally
reached
our
goal.
Lee
Reinhart
then
introduced
Sean
Baumgartner,
Director
of ALNC.
Mr.
Baumgartner
thanked
everyone,
and
especially
Stan,
for
having
the
tenacity
to
follow
through
on
this
project.
Several
dignitaries
were
present
and
were
invited
to
speak:
Congressman
Quigley
was
unable
to
attend.
But
his
Aide,
Jonathan
Pizer
was
there.
He
said
the
Congressman
had
entered
a
statement
in
the
Congressional
Record
with
the
information
about
Stanley
and
the
monument..
Representative
Robin
Kelly
from
Illinois
2nd
District
spoke.
“This
stunning
monument
stands
as a
tribute
to
your
patriotism
and
heroism.
And,
it
stands
as a
tribute
to
your
progress
toward
attaining
America’s
promise
of
equality,
justice
and
freedom
for
all.”
Congressman
Bill
Foster
from
the
11th
District
also
spoke.
“I
served
in
the
office
of
Congressman
Patrick
Murphy
as
he
led
the
charge
in
Congress
to
repeal
Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell
-
the
very
policy
responsible
for
so
many
injustices.
So,
I’m
even
more
proud
today,
that
now
proud
LGBT
men
and
women
can
serve
today
without
having
to
hide
their
identity.”
At
this
time
the
Monument
was
unveiled
followed
by a
huge
applause
and
the
Chicago
Gay
Mens
Chorus
sang
America,
the
Beautiful.
A
floral
bouquet
was
placed
at
the
base
of
the
monument.
All
three
clergy
participated
in a
Benediction.
A
Moment
of
Silence
was
observed
as
Melissa
Terrell
and
Susan
Jones
performed
Echo
TAPS.
The
entire
program
was
recorded
by
Tracy
Baim
from
Windy
City
Times
and
can
be
viewed
at
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/LGBT-Veterans-Monument-dedicated/51562.html
Thanks
to
the
incredible
generosity
of
members,
friends
and
anonymous
donors
we
have
reached
our
goal
of
$19,500.00
and
the
monument
was
paid
off
by
May.
We
are
all
so
grateful
for
everyone’s
support.
At
this
time
we
are
planning
a
Veterans
and
&
Supporters
event
to
thank
everyone
who
helped
us.
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