In the pitch-black hours of an early morning in May 1988, Mona McGuire’s military career came to a devastating halt. A cacophony of fist pounding on doors and shouts echoed through the barracks as Army detectives barged in, flipping her world upside down. Within moments, McGuire and three other women found themselves handcuffed and whisked away for a seemingly endless interrogation.
They knew everything — her partner, her hangout spots, even details as intimate as her menstrual cycle. Eventually, McGuire admitted to the “crime” they had already discovered: she had been intimate with women. This forced her to plead guilty to sodomy and an indecent act to avoid a court-martial and a possible prison sentence. The result? A stained record that still haunts her after nearly four decades.
“I was embarrassed. I was ashamed,” McGuire says today from her home in suburban Milwaukee. For 35 long years, only her closest friends understood the true reason behind her abrupt departure from the Army. Yet, even with numerous advances in LGBTQ rights, McGuire remains ineligible for veterans’ benefits, branded as an outcast by the Department of Veterans Affairs — an institution that ironically celebrates Pride Month.
McGuire’s story is not an isolated outrage. Advocacy groups estimate that up to 100,000 veterans were ousted due to their sexual orientation between the 1950s and the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in 2011. Despite recent positive reforms intended to ease restrictions on veterans previously denied benefits, those like McGuire, carrying the burden of criminal convictions, see no reprieve.
Baby steps for vets with ‘bad paper’
Before 1993, service members faced outright bans on being gay, and the lengths to which the military would go to discover and discharge them were draconian. While “don’t ask, don’t tell” presented under the Clinton administration was seen as a compromise, it didn’t protect LGBTQ service members from witch hunts and discharges. Even post-repeal, many continue to fight the same biases embedded within the system.
On June 25, VA began accepting appeals from veterans with “less than honorable” discharges, often called “bad paper,” who could prove that harassment, discrimination, or mental health issues led to their forced exits. While this shift marks some progress, it’s met with criticism for its limited scope. Veterans like McGuire, who accepted bad discharges to escape court-martials, still find themselves on the wrong side of these changes.
“I feel like some people had the perspective that once ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ was repealed, everything would be fine,” says Dana Montalto, an attorney at Harvard Law School’s Veterans Legal Clinic. “But the repeal didn’t do anything to remedy the harm.”
Worried ‘someone would tell on us’
McGuire, raised in the small town of Mineola, Texas, enlisted in the Army in 1987 to follow in the footsteps of her military police father. She excelled and thrived in the military, until she struck up a relationship with a bubbly fellow soldier, Karla Lehmann. The two women lived under a constant cloud of fear, worried that someone would turn them in.
Their fears were realized when, in the dark hours of May 1988, they and two other female soldiers were dragged from their barracks and subjected to hours of crushing interrogation. The life they had envisioned in the military was, in an instant, obliterated.
‘I regret to inform you …’
Decades later, hoping that shifting tides of public opinion and policy would be in her favor, McGuire sought to right the wrong done to her. She applied to the Army in 2022 to upgrade her discharge. Yet, despite her diligent efforts and the compelling case she made, in August 2023, she received a cold, bureaucratic dismissal of her plea: “I regret to inform you that the Army Board for Correction of Military Records denied your application.”
McGuire’s attorney, Christie Bhageloe of The Veterans Consortium, is incredulous. “Because if you look at her record, they are all charges for just being gay. That’s it,” she says, emphasizing the injustice. McGuire’s case epitomizes the challenges many veterans continue to face despite policy changes meant to rectify past wrongs.
VA benefits to keep troops in line
The struggle for justice isn’t just personal; it’s a systemic clash between two governmental entities with divergent missions. The Department of Defense (DoD) focuses on maintaining order and mission readiness, while the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) exists to care for those who served. In 2020, the DoD discouraged the VA from easing up on benefit restrictions, arguing that the carrot of future benefits keeps service members disciplined. This stance complicates efforts to right past wrongs against LGBTQ veterans.
Advocates argue that letting the DoD influence the process undercuts the VA’s mission and harms veterans like McGuire who unfairly carry the weight of their discharges.
The bombshell Facebook message
Who tipped off authorities back in 1988, leading to McGuire’s and others’ expulsion? For years, this question nagged at the women forced out of the Army. In January 2018, McGuire finally got an answer: a Facebook message from a former platoon-mate apologized for the years of pain she caused. The message, though intended to mend bridges, left McGuire feeling more hurt and angry than relieved.
Lehmann, now a retired Milwaukee Police Department officer, has found some peace with her past. The experiences she endured made her a better, more thoughtful officer. Yet, both women can’t overlook the bitter irony that while they were expelled for being gay, they endured relentless harassment from male peers in the barracks.
Bhageloe is appealing McGuire’s case, asking for her short Army tenure to be recognized as a full two-year service to make her eligible for VA benefits. “That’s a big ask,” Bhageloe admits, “but it was a big deal that her military service ended early, really through no fault of her own.”
McGuire dreams of reenlisting, of lacing up her combat boots and being surrounded by the camaraderie of fellow soldiers. But in reality, she’s barred from military grounds—a reminder of an era she wishes she could forget but can never escape.
If you or someone you know is a veteran who was forced out of the military because of your sexual orientation, please consider sharing your story with us.
