Veterans Day Remembrance
Title
Veterans Day Remembrance
Subject
Oklahomans for Equality's Veterans Lobby, appreciation for LGBTQ veterans, military recruiters at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center when DADT fell
Description
This is an OkEq History Project article that calls attention to the Veterans Lobby at the Equality Center and discusses the plaques with pictures honoring individuals LGBTQ veterans, the pool table, the flags and the editorial cartoons; recalls that military recruiters were at the Equality Center to talk to potential recruits on the day the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was no longer in effect; and salutes our LGBTQ veterans.
Creator
Mary Bishop-Baldwin
Publisher
Oklahomans for Equality
Date
Nov. 11, 2026
Rights
Oklahomans for Equality
Type
Article
Identifier
Veterans Day 2026 article
Text
Veterans Day remembrance
By Mary Bishop-Baldwin
Oklahomans for Equality History Project
On this Veterans Day, Oklahomans for Equality History Project remembers with pride and appreciation the many members of our LGBTQ community who have served in our nation’s military, even during times when it was impossible for them to be open and honest about their own identities.
On the second floor of OkEq’s Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, just off the elevator, visitors will find our Veterans Lobby, where 36 plaques with photos honor local LGBTQ individuals who served before the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was repealed. Those brave individuals allowed Oklahomans for Equality to tell their stories – and include their identities – to our congressional delegation when trying to persuade them to advocate for the repeal of DADT.
The Veterans Lobby was dedicated on Veterans Day in 2008 to honor those in our community who served. In addition to the plaques, the lobby holds U.S. and Oklahoma flags and the flags from every branch of service, which are carried in OkEq’s Tulsa Pride parades in an honor guard contingent of veterans organized for many years by Melanie Thurston, an Army Spec. E-4 who served in the first Iraq War. Also in the lobby is a pool table that was donated and dedicated in memory of U.S. Marine Corps Sgt Harold Joseph Hooker, a gay paratrooper who served during the Korean War, along with a casket flag in a shadow box with Hooker’s medals, memorabilia and photos. Nearby, three editorial cartoons donated to Oklahomans for Equality by former Tulsa World cartoonist Bruce Plante adorn a wall. An informative video tour of the Veterans Lobby is posted to social media.
On Sept. 20, 2011, the day the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy officially ended, Oklahomans for Equality made history by being the first LGBTQ center anywhere to host military recruiters. Potential candidates came to the Equality Center to meet with the recruiters. The event was covered by local and national media, including The New York Times.
In the years before the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and the military’s outright ban on gay people before that, many members of our community wanted to – and did – serve their country honorably. They had to hide their true identities, and when and if they were found out, often they were dishonorably discharged. Now through an executive order, the Pentagon has instituted a policy again prohibiting transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming individuals from serving in the military. The policy is being challenged in the courts.
The Oklahomans for Equality History Project salutes the brave members of our community who have served our country and those who are serving now. Happy Veterans Day.
By Mary Bishop-Baldwin
Oklahomans for Equality History Project
On this Veterans Day, Oklahomans for Equality History Project remembers with pride and appreciation the many members of our LGBTQ community who have served in our nation’s military, even during times when it was impossible for them to be open and honest about their own identities.
On the second floor of OkEq’s Dennis R. Neill Equality Center, just off the elevator, visitors will find our Veterans Lobby, where 36 plaques with photos honor local LGBTQ individuals who served before the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was repealed. Those brave individuals allowed Oklahomans for Equality to tell their stories – and include their identities – to our congressional delegation when trying to persuade them to advocate for the repeal of DADT.
The Veterans Lobby was dedicated on Veterans Day in 2008 to honor those in our community who served. In addition to the plaques, the lobby holds U.S. and Oklahoma flags and the flags from every branch of service, which are carried in OkEq’s Tulsa Pride parades in an honor guard contingent of veterans organized for many years by Melanie Thurston, an Army Spec. E-4 who served in the first Iraq War. Also in the lobby is a pool table that was donated and dedicated in memory of U.S. Marine Corps Sgt Harold Joseph Hooker, a gay paratrooper who served during the Korean War, along with a casket flag in a shadow box with Hooker’s medals, memorabilia and photos. Nearby, three editorial cartoons donated to Oklahomans for Equality by former Tulsa World cartoonist Bruce Plante adorn a wall. An informative video tour of the Veterans Lobby is posted to social media.
On Sept. 20, 2011, the day the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy officially ended, Oklahomans for Equality made history by being the first LGBTQ center anywhere to host military recruiters. Potential candidates came to the Equality Center to meet with the recruiters. The event was covered by local and national media, including The New York Times.
In the years before the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy and the military’s outright ban on gay people before that, many members of our community wanted to – and did – serve their country honorably. They had to hide their true identities, and when and if they were found out, often they were dishonorably discharged. Now through an executive order, the Pentagon has instituted a policy again prohibiting transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming individuals from serving in the military. The policy is being challenged in the courts.
The Oklahomans for Equality History Project salutes the brave members of our community who have served our country and those who are serving now. Happy Veterans Day.
Original Format
Email, social media
Files
Citation
Mary Bishop-Baldwin, “Veterans Day Remembrance,” OKEQ History Project, accessed November 13, 2026, https://history.okeq.org/items/show/1412.