Gay AF Major’s comrades mourn ‘an equal among those who died alongside her’

The Associated Press reported that Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen was one of the six Air Force members killed Monday by a Taliban suicide attack.

According to Towleroad.com, quoting ABC7 News, Major Vorderbruggen “is the first openly gay active duty servicewoman to die in combat. Vorderbruggen and her wife, Heather Lamb, had a 4-year-old son. Lamb and her son moved in with her mother in San Rafael while Vorderbruggen was deployed. Lamb’s mother wouldn’t speak on camera but the American Legion Post 448 in San Francisco recognized Vorderbruggen’s service.”

The Daily Beast wrote, “Vorderbruggen, one of six U.S. troops killed Monday in Afghanistan, was remembered as much for her advocacy as her service in the military. She spent years working to repeal ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ the policy that demanded gay troops’ silence. She died one day shy of the five-year anniversary of its repeal.

“When their son was born, Vorderbruggen, still restrained by ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ could not tell anyone about his impending birth. She had to guess when to take time off to coincide with her birth. To the military at the time, she was not married; at best, she had a partner.”

Military Partners and Families Coalition posted a statement on their Facebook page, saying, “We lost a member of our military family yesterday. Our friend, Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen, was killed while serving in Afghanistan. All military families understand that part of serving means the potential of sending their loved one into harm’s way, but no amount of understanding can reduce the pain of loss when they do not return. Major Vorderbruggen leaves behind her wife, Heather, and four year-old son, Jacob. As we try to find comfort in our community during this time, we also extend our love and compassion to the five other U.S. military families who lost a loved one yesterday.

“Major Vorderbruggen was a person who lived for her family and for her country. She was one of the most friendly and laid-back people you could ever hope to meet and was an accomplished airman, a great athlete, and most of all, a wonderful mom. She leaves an indelible legacy of strength and selflessness to all those touched by her life.

The Daily Beast continued, “On Wednesday, Heather and Jacob can go to Dover Air Force Base and watch the solemn ceremony welcoming of their war hero, not in the shadows in which they lived through much of her career, but openly, as her family.

“Her death comes just weeks after the U.S. military opened all combat positions to women. It is hard to say definitively that Vorderbruggen was the first openly gay servicewoman to be killed in action as the military does not keep such statistics. Moreover, it is hard to define what is open service, as several members of the military have died open to their friends and comrades—but not to their commanding officers.

“But Vorderbruggen is believed to be the first-active duty, openly gay, female service member to die in combat. She also is first the first openly gay Air Force officer to die in combat. At least two openly gay female members of the National Guard have died while serving.

“Regardless, the way the military reacted to her death spoke to progress it has made since the signing of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal exactly five years ago. Both LBGT advocates and military members once opposed to the repeal saw her not as a first but an equal among those who died alongside her.

“They said they were grateful for what she did to bring change, and mourned the loss of a comrade.”

The Associated Press reported that five other airmen lost their lives in the attack that killed Major Vorderbruggen. They were Staff Sgt. Louis Michael M. Bonacasa, 31, of Coram, Long Island; Staff Sgt. Michael A. Cinco, 38 from Mercedes, TX; Technical Sgt. Joseph G. Lemm, 45, a 15-year veteran of the New York Police Department, who was on his third tour of duty in the Middle East; Staff Sgt. Chester J. McBride Jr., 30, of Statesboro, Georgia; and Staff Sgt. Peter W. Taub, 30 from Philadelphia.

“MAJ. Vorderbruggen was 36, from Plymouth, Minnesota, in suburban Minneapolis. She was assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, 9th Field Investigations Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

“Her father, Joseph Vorderbruggen, told The Associated Press his daughter ‘loved life’ and ‘loved the military.’ He said, ‘Whatever goal she had, she found a way.’"

The Gayly – December 23, 2015 @ 11:20 a.m.