KEY POINTS:
In life, Major Alan Rogers was an American patriot, committed to the United States Army in which he had served for 18 of his 40 years.
His death, from a roadside bomb, which took the number of American losses in Iraq to more than 4000, robbed the service of an outstanding military intelligence officer and deprived his friends of someone they all described as a great listener and a profoundly religious man.
Rogers was also gay. He wasn't asked and, at least to most colleagues, he didn't tell, but the story of his struggle to balance two competing aspects of his life has moved to the heart of the debate about gay military service.
Rogers, raised by adoptive parents in New York and Florida, joined the US Army to serve in the 1991 Gulf War, and later had tours of South Korea and Iraq ahead of the 2003 invasion. He used military sponsorship programmes to pursue academic studies, ultimately becoming a biometrics expert on assignment at the Pentagon before his final tour of duty in Iraq. He was also a Baptist preacher and is remembered as a wise counsellor to friends and to the men under his command.
Rogers' story has been adopted by gay-rights campaigners. Someone on a computer inside the Pentagon was briefly able to change a Wikipedia profile of Rogers to omit his sexuality, sparking a battle over whether it was relevant to notices of his long service and his ultimate sacrifice.
"Alan was a true soldier and loved serving his country," his friend Tony Smith remembered. "He was a warm, gentle spirit and a true leader who always looked for ways to help others. And he was also a gay man. Alan was not someone who hid his sexual orientation. He didn't wear it on his sleeve, but he didn't hide it under a cloak either."
Now, campaigners hope that the example of this dedicated military man, posthumously awarded a Purple Heart for his bravery, is giving new impetus to their attempt to rip up the Clinton-era policy known as don't ask, don't tell and finally to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly in the US military.
It was a campaign of which Rogers had been a part in life, and which has taken a few faltering steps towards fruition in the short months since his death in January.
Although a slim majority of active military personnel still oppose a change, surveys of both the public and of veterans have shown a significant warming towards the idea of repealing the don't ask, don't tell policy, at a time when the US is stretched thin in two wars. Last week, Congress held a hearing on the policy for the first time since it was put on the statute books 15 years ago.
"I think the momentum is there now for change," says Denny Meyer, editor of The Gay Military Times, an online newsletter that advocates a repeal of don't ask, don't tell. "Gay people have been serving in America's armed forces since the Revolution - but Major Rogers is the first known homosexual to have been killed."
Although many US allies allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, and the UK has allowed it since 2000, top Pentagon officials remain opposed. Senator John McCain says he is opposed on the grounds that it will damage morale, but his rival for the presidency, Senator Barack Obama, says he supports the repeal of don't ask, don't tell.
- INDEPENDENT
