Nancy Lynchild's grave at Willamette National Cemetery, when it is dug, will seal a marriage while setting a national first. And it will provide a public expression of a life that retired Air Force Lt. Col. Linda Campbell once had to live in secret.
The burial of Lynchild's ashes at the military cemetery will be the nation's first of a veteran's same-sex spouse.
Read more here: http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2013/02/in_a_first_va_approves_request.html
See more photos here: http://photos.oregonlive.com/photo-essay/2013/02/air_force_veteran_gets_waiver.html
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Linda Campbell, an Air Force veteran, has been granted a waiver by the Secretary of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, to have the ashes of her spouse, Nancy Lynchild, buried at Willamette National Cemetery. It is the first such waiver granted in the nation. Nancy Lynchild died of metastatic breast cancer in Eugene on Dec. 22, 2012. Campbell applied for the waiver with the support of Oregon Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries Brad Avakian and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Copyright: The Oregonian/Thomas Boyd