WOOSTER, Ohio — Lt. Dan Choi, an Iraq War Veteran who was discharged after publicly disclosing that he is gay, will share his story during a visit to The College of Wooster on Wednesday, Feb. 15. The talk, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will be held in McGaw Chapel (340 E. University St.). Admission is free and open to the public.
A graduate of West Point and the son of a Baptist minister, Choi announced his sexual orientation to a national audience on The Rachel Maddow Show in 2009. After that, his life changed dramatically. Despite his fluency in Arabic, which made him a valuable asset in communications with the Iraqi people, Choi was notified one month after his announcement that the Army had begun discharge proceedings against him.
At the trial, Choi gave his testimony in Arabic. When asked for a translation he wrote his statement in Arabic and English for court record. He also presented more than 260,000 support statements, but the military board decided to discharge him for violation of "Don't Ask Don't Tell." The case was appealed to the Secretary of Defense, during which time Choi served openly in his infantry unit for more than a year while publicly pushing for the repeal of the policy. He also continued to actively speak out against the policy as a national co-chair of the March on Washington for LGBT Equality.
Five months later, Choi handcuffed himself to the White House fence with a fellow gay veteran. The two were arrested and imprisoned. They repeated the action one month after that with four other veterans. Eventually, all charges were dropped. Following his release from prison, he received notification of his honorable discharge under "Don't Ask Don't Tell." He wrote a letter to the Senate Majority Leader, relinquishing his West Point class ring.
After another arrest at the White House last November, Choi proudly attended the bill signing that would repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and restore the honor of service to millions of American veterans. Following the signing, the Senate Majority Leader, noting its inscriptions "Duty, Honor, Country" and "Protectors of the Free," returned Lt. Choi's West Point class ring. Choi continues to advocate for full LGBT civil rights and veteran's health. He has served as Grand Marshal for several LGBT Pride Parades, appeared frequently on national and international news programs, and serves on the boards of Marriage Equality USA and the American Foundation for Equal Rights. Currently, he is pursuing graduate studies at Harvard University.
Additional information about Choi’s visit is available by phone (330-263-2559) or e-mail (jzimmer@wooster.edu).
This story was provided by an individual or organization for use on the Ohio.com community site, http://www.ohio.com/upublish. We do not endorse and cannot guarantee the accuracy of this posting, though we do reject announcements with inappropriate content. You can read our full user agreement here.
