Tell

October 1, 2017
In this timely volume, U.S. Air Force flight nurse Major Witt was an outed lesbian who was removed from her medical-evacuation unit despite being a 20-year military veteran. Her personal struggle culminated in her successful four-year battle to challenge the constitutional validity of her dismissal from the U.S. Air Force under the Clinton-era don't ask, don't tell policy. Witt's story, told with coauthor Connor, is part of the larger story of gays in the military. A shocking betrayal by a former partner led to Witt's dismissal for homosexual conduct, but she decided to fight back. The thought of being forced to leave the military was devastating to Witt, whose entire sense of self revolved around her service. She also happened to be good at her job. Much of the second half of the book is about her historic trial and her bid to be reinstated into the military. Ultimately, Witt reached an agreement with the U.S. Air Force: instead of being reinstated, the U.S. Air Force agreed to remove her discharge from its records and provided her with full retirement benefits.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)