LGBTQ+ Stories

Tour curated by: Museum of History and Holocaust Education | 5 Locations

These intergenerational stories range from the Civil War to the War in Iraq.

Locations for Tour

Born with the name Jennie Hodgers in Clogherhead, Co. Louth, in Ireland in 1843, the person who spent most of their life as Albert D.J. Cashier emigrated to the United States sometime before the start of the Civil War.There are a number of possible reasons why Albert dressed and lived as a man prior… Learn more

Born in Gary, South Dakota, in 1917, Chuck Rowland knew that he was homosexual by the time he was ten years old. He felt from a young age that there should be a gay rights movement just like there were civil rights movements for other identity groups.After the U.S. entered World War II, Rowland was… Learn more

Lorraine Hurdle was a Black lesbian woman who served as a recruiter for the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. She served in the United States and overseas in Germany. Although a comprehensive biography of Lorraine Hurdle has yet to be written, she donated an extensive archive of… Learn more

Born in the Bronx, New York, on May 30, 1926, Christine Jorgensen was raised as George William Jorgensen, Jr. From an early age, she identified as a woman trapped inside a man's body. World War II started while Jorgensen was still in high school, but they were initially rejected after trying to… Learn more

Born in Orange County, California, in 1981, Dan Choi grew up in a Korean-American family with a strong Christian faith. After graduating from high school, Choi enrolled at the United States Military Academy at West Point where he studied Arabic and environmental engineering. Choi graduated from West… Learn more