This is the story of Col. Pat Thompson and Barbara Brass and the making of Surviving the Silence.

In November of 2013, Col. Pat Thompson and I, her wife, Barbara Brass, decided to share our story of living in the invisible world of LGBT members of the US Military. We were the keynote speakers for Gay Pride Days at Sierra College in Rocklin, CA. We shared our story publicly for the first time — to a packed theater—and were overwhelmed with people of all ages thanking us for speaking up. In the audience was Cindy L. Abel who had just screened her award winning documentary, Breaking Through. She decided that our story needed to be the subject of her next documentary. We are now in production of Surviving the Silence. An intriguing aspect of our story is Col. Pat’s excruciating duty of serving as the president of the military review board that had to remove the federal recognition of Col. Grethe Cammermeyer in 1992. This is the untold story.

“Surviving the Silence allows me to publicly recognize Pat for what she did during the Review Board hearing. I didn’t know at the time that she was a lesbian so I wasn’t aware of the impossible choices she had to make.”
– Col. Grethe Cammermeyer

We know that being out is the only way to make a positive and lasting change in perceptions and acceptance of LGBT people. Our stories are what we have to give the world to help bring humanity closer together. Surviving the Silence also documents history and puts a real face on the impact of laws. It shows what was at stake and the sacrifices required to maintain a loving relationship while serving in the military. We hope that sharing some of the challenges we faced as well as the loving commitment we continue to enjoy will help move full equality forward.

Be a part of history and donate to this exciting effort at: Surviving the Silence.com.