Hajdys-Holman, Dorothy

In 1992, Dorothy Hajdys-Holman's son, Seaman Allen Schindler, was brutally murdered by fellow shipmates while stationed in Japan. Allen's death ignited a nationwide debate on gays in the military, culminating in the 1992 presidential campaign. It was in large part because of Allen's death, and Dorothy's subsequent activism, that the issue of open service by gay Americans received prominent national attention.

A resident of Chicago, Dorothy remains actively involved in efforts to ensure that Allen's killers remain behind bars. She has founded the Allen Schindler Memorial Fund to finance SLDN's outreach and education work and the Allen Schindler Petition Campaign. The petition campaign's goal is to obtain 1,000,000 signatures requesting that her son's killers do not receive parole or undue leniency within the military justice system.

Dorothy has traveled extensively on behalf of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, speaking about the need to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and allow lesbian and gay Americans to serve openly. Her story was the subject of "Any Mother's Son," a Lifetime television movie. In 2001, she received the Barry Winchell Courage Award for her work on behalf of LGBT service members.