Barry Winchell

Barry Winchell (31 August 1977 – 6 July 1999) was an infantry soldier in the United States Army,
whose murder by a fellow soldier, Calvin Glover, became a point of reference in the ongoing debate
about the law known as "Don't ask, don't tell" that enforces the military to discharge service
members based on sexual orientation.
A native of Missouri, Winchell enlisted in the Army in 1997 and was transferred in 1998 to Fort
Campbell, Kentucky. As a Private First Class, he was assigned to the 2/502nd Infantry of the 101st
Airborne Division. While stationed at Fort Campbell, he received a Dear John letter from his high
school sweetheart. Winchell later accompanied his roommate, Justin Fisher, and other soldiers for an
excursion to the Nashville downtown bars. In 1999, Fisher and others took Winchell to a Nashville
club "The Connection", featuring transgender performers, and Winchell met a male-to-female
transgendered showgirl named Calpernia Addams. The two dated and Fisher began spreading rumors of
the relationship at Ft. Campbell where both were serving. Winchell then became a target of ongoing
harassment and it is apparent that his superiors did little to quell the harassment.

The harassment was continuous until the Fourth of July weekend, when Winchell and fellow soldier,
Calvin Glover, fought after Winchell accused a boasting Glover of being a fraud. Both were drinking
beer throughout the day. Glover was soundly defeated by Winchell, and Fisher harassed Glover about
being beaten by Winchell. Fisher and Winchell had their own history of physical altercations as
roommates in the barracks of Ft. Campbell. Fisher continued to goad Glover about being beaten by
Winchell. Subsequently, Glover took a baseball bat from Fisher's locker and struck Winchell in the
head with the baseball bat as he slept on a cot outside near the entry to the room Winchell shared
with Fisher in the early hours of 5 July 1999. Winchell died of massive head injuries on 6 July.
Glover was later convicted for the murder of Winchell; Fisher was convicted of lesser crimes
regarding impeding the subsequent criminal investigation, and both were subsequently incarcerated at
the United States Disciplinary Barracks. The murder charges against Fisher were dropped and Fisher
was sentenced in a plea bargain to 12.5 years, denied clemency in 2003, released to a halfway house
in August 2006, and released from all custody in October. Glover is serving a life sentence.