Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 09:25:55 -0400 (EDT) From: A Jay Eddy Subject: Pfc.Winchell Murdered - BUT WHY??? (fwd) Bwd. Log Cabin E-BB (954) LCR-1995 ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 07:49:12 EDT From:Cliff4Vets@aol.com To: ajayeddy@bc.seflin.org Subject: PFC Barry Winchell/Hate Crime Victim NEW ENGLAND GAY, LESBIAN & BISEXUAL VETERANS, INC. P.O. Box 6599 Boston, MA 02114 http://www.glbva.org FOR YOUR INFORMATION FORWARDED BY CLIFF ARNESEN ***************************************************************** This wz fwrded to me, this msg has been cut & pasted on to this e-mail to hide the original sender... THIS HAS GOT TO STOP! -Gax Pray for all concerned. Pray that such grisley acts will cease. Tuesday of this past week, U.S. Army PFC Barry Winchell, a 21-year-old soldier at Ft Campbell, Kentucky was savagely beaten to death with a baseball bat at his barracks. He was flown from the Army base to a trauma center at Vanderbilt in Nasvhille and he died shortly after arriving at the hospital. One soldier, 18-year-old Private Calvin Glover,has been charged with premeditated murder and is in pre-trial confinement at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Barry was dating a man in Nashville, Cal Adams (known affectionately to our community as "Calpurnia". Cal is a Navy Vet). The Army is being VERY tight lipped about this incident. The entire barracks and the grounds surrounding the barracks are cordoned off. Ten other soldiers are being held in connection with this murder but have not been charged. The Service Members Legal Defense and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force are here investigating things. Many gay soldiers are afraid to come forward with ,what they know because they will risk discharge or treatment similar to what Barry received at the hands of his peers. I understand that Barry's body (especially his skull) was so damaged from the beating that his family may not be able to view his remains. Barry was an expert marksman and a gunner. He served his country honorably and was never a discipline problem in the military. He had a good sense of humor and many describe him as a "sweet and gentle person". I am 35-years-old and I have seen folks die in the line of duty. I am usually stoic, but this whole thing has made me physically ill. I don't know if this is something that you would want to share with your website viewers or people on your e-mail list. I feel very isolated in the nightmarish diocese of Tennessee and wanted to share my outrage and my grief with you. I ask your prayers for Barry, for Calpurnia, and for the perpetrators of this crime. ***** CONTINUED*** NEW ENGLAND GAY, LESBIAN & BISEXUAL VETERANS, INC. P.O. Box 6599, Boston, MA 02114 http://www.glbva.org Saturday, 10 July, 199 President William Jefferson Clinton The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Clinton: Today, I received the terrible news of the brutal beating death of PFC Barry Winchell, a 21-year-old U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Campbell, who died earlier this week from fatal injuries he sustained, after allegedly being violently being beaten with a baseball bat by at least one of his fellow servicemen. If true, PFC Winchell will be the second member of the U.S. Military who has been murdered by his fellow servicemembers-the other being, 22 year old U.S. Navy Seaman Allen Schindler who, because he was gay, was brutally murdered in a bathroom in Sasebo, Japan, by two of his Navy shipmates on October 27, 1992. As a result of these murders and other attacks on GLBT servicemembers of the U. S. Armed Forces, we urge you in the strongest terms hold base commanders and other superior officers criminally accountable for their lack of enforcement of violations of the DA/DT/DP policy, which has led to the climate that exists in the military to perpetrate such monstrous acts of violence and murder upon GLBT servicemembers due to our sexual orientations(s). Furthermore, we demand that you, as Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces, ORDER an immediate investigation into the death of PFC Barry Winchell. Mr. President, this madness must stop! Around the world , our country is being perceived as one which promises " Equal Rights" for all. I am saddened to say this is not the case, and we as a country are losing credibility as to our commitment to human and civil rights. in 1991, you promised to "lift the Ban" on Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual servicemen and women in the U.S. Armed Forces. Instead, you broke your promise and compromised with the Pentagon, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Religious Right, and the Department of Defense, with the detestable and inhumane Don't Ask/Don't Tell /Don't Pursue policy which was codified into law. Since we have to live with the current policy, please, please, hold superior officers "feet to the fire' on enforcement of policy, and order an investigation to bring the murderer(s) of PFC Barry Winchell to justice. Sincerely and Respectfully Yours, Cliff Arnesn President Cliff4vets@aol.com Board Member: National Bisexual Advisory Board Member: American Legion, Alexander Hamilton Post 448 Auxiliary Member: Blinded Veterans Association ****** Continued ***** 2-A July 10, 1999 For Immediate Release - 2 Broward Log Cabin Republican Club of Florida P.O. Box 1281, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33302 (954) LCR-1995 "DON'T PURSUE" ALLEGEDLY KILLS ANOTHER SERVICEMEMBER The codified Nunn-Frank Military Policy, "Don't Ask-Don't Tell- Don't Pursue," is anything but an honest compromise for it has turned into an agenda of military activism that apparently enables murder, harassment and discrimination against loyal, patriotic and concerned Americans simply because of their sexual orientation. Now, with the tragic beating and brutal death of Pfc. Barry Winchell, a 21 year-old Ft. Campbell soldier by a fellow serviceman, another alleged crime against gays surfaces as it did in the initial murder cover up of Seaman Allan Schindler. A Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund representative is investigating the Winchell incident but the military has been cloaked in silence and individuals with insight have apparently been warned not to speak to the public. Seemingly the guilt goes beyond those who commit the deed. It touches those who hid the Rand Report from Congress and equally ūto the Legislators who did not punish the guilty for their deception and cover up. The treatment of non-heterosexuals mocks the simplicity found in the essence of Biblical "Golden Rule" and denies Americans their Constitutional equality guaranteed by our Founding Fathers. Our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of Pfc. Barry Winchell. Now Americans will wonder about the type of redress that will be swiftly served by those blindly holding the scale of military justice. The representatives of SLDN deserve full and immediate disclosure on the matter and the Pentagon should promptly cooperate with all concerned individuals avoiding civilian misconception. --------------------------------------------------------- End of Message 2-A BLCCF - E-BB (954) LCR-1995 ---------------------------------------------------------