Helen G. James

Helen G. James
BornJanuary 30th, 1928
Scranton, Pennsylvania
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchAir Force
Years of service1952-1955
RankAirman Second Class
Other workPhysical Therapist

Helen Grace James (born in Pennsylvania) is a physical therapist and U.S. military veteran. She served in the United States Air Force, where she achieved the rank of Airman Second Class. She was discharged from the military as "undesirable" during the Lavender Scare campaign to remove lesbian and gay people from government employment in links with the anti-communist campaign. In 1960, she was able to upgrade her status from "undesirable" to "General Discharge under Honorable Conditions". In 2018, she successfully sued the U.S. Air Force to upgrade her discharge to "honorable,”[1] which allowed her to receive full veteran benefits that were previously unavailable to her.[2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ "Helen G. James Collection - Legal Documents - Discharge Lawsuit | Smithsonian Digital Volunteers". transcription.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  2. ^ "An Honor Taken, Now Restored". Air & Space Magazine. Retrieved 2019-10-08.
  3. ^ "Lesbian veteran, 90, expelled from Air Force in '55, finally gets her 'honorable discharge'". Nbcnews.com. 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  4. ^ Williams, Patti (27 June 2018). "Helen James' Fight for Equality in the Military". airandspace.si.edu. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  5. ^ Swenson, Kyle (18 January 2018). "The Air Force expelled her in 1955 for being a lesbian. Now, at 90, she's getting an honorable discharge". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-12-22.