For gay couples hoping for a military burial, the fight for love doesn't end with death
CNN
The right to a military burial for gay spouses was guaranteed nationwide with the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015, but only a handful of known same-sex military couples are buried across US national cemeteries. For most, the right to such an honor has been hard won.
Nancy Lynchild died of cancer in 2012. It was too soon. Too soon for Campbell, who lived another six years without the love of her life. Too soon for a nation that had not yet federally legalized same-sex marriage, leaving Campbell with little recourse when Veterans Affairs denied her request for Lynchild's burial on the same hallowed ground to which other military spouses were entitled.
Still, Campbell fought. Oregon state leaders helped her convince Veterans Affairs to allow Lynchild's remains to be interred at Willamette. When Campbell died in 2018, her ashes were buried with her wife's and sealed behind a stone carved with a sandhill crane, a symbol for their undying love.