Serving in Silence

It's been 11 years since "Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story" aired on NBC and, finally, the movie starring Glenn Close and produced by Barbra Streisand, debuts on DVD Sept. 12. The movie won Close an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, the highest-ranking officer ever to be discharged from the U.S. Military for being gay.

Co-star Judy Davis also won an Emmy Award for her performance and the film won a Peabody Award and a GLAAD Media Award as well . DVD extras include interviews with Streisand, Cammermeyer and Close, as well as footage of the 1996 GLAAD Media Awards.

The movie seems just as relevant today if you look at figures released in May by Servicemembers Legal Defense Network: 742 lesbian, gay and bisexual service members were discharged by the Defense Department in 2005, a 11% increase from 2004.

Col. Cammermeyer had a long and distinguished career as a military nurse but was dismissed in 1992 after revealing she was gay during a security clearance interview. She fought a two-year court battle and won and was able to resume her position as Chief Nurse of the Washington State National Guard, retiring in 1997 after 31 years of service.