Alan G . Rogers Alan Greg Rogers ( September 21 , 1967 – January 27 , 2008 ) was an ordained pastor , a U . S . Army Major and Intelligence Officer , a civil rights activist in the gay , lesbian and bisexual military community and the first known gay combat fatality of Operation Iraqi Freedom . The subsequent coverage of his death in the media sparked a debate over the effect of the military ' s " Don ’ t Ask , Don ’ t Tell " ( DADT ) policy and what information should be included in the biography of a gay military person killed in action . Early life and education . At the age of 3 , Rogers was adopted by George and Genny Rogers and was their only child . In 1977 , the Rogers family moved from New York to Hampton , Florida , near Gainesville . Rogers attended Hampton Elementary School , and ultimately graduated from Bradford County High School in Starke , Florida , in 1985 . Rogers joined Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in Lincoln City , Florida , and was ordained a pastor as a young man . While in high school , Rogers was commander of the Junior Reserve Officers ' Training Corps program and elected by his classmates as the " most intellectual . " Military career and adult life . After high school , Rogers joined the Reserve Officers ' Training Corps program at the University of Florida and then accepted a commission in the United States Army upon graduation with a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion in 1995 . Rogers later completed a Master of Arts degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix through distance learning . Rogers ' s father , George , died of a heart attack in 2000 , and his mother , Genny , died of kidney - related problems two weeks later . Rogers preached at his mother ' s funeral . In 2004 , Rogers moved to Washington , D . C . and , in 2005 , earned a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University . Only 25 Army officers were accepted into the program . Rogers ' s thesis adviser was Mark Nadel , who described Rogers as " an officer with leadership qualities that made him think , ' This is a guy I ' m going to hear from in 10 years , and he ' s going to be a general . ' " Rogers ' s thesis examined how the US military ’ s DADT policy affected recruitment and retention for military officers . In recognition of his achievements at Georgetown , Rogers gained an internship at the Pentagon serving the deputy secretary of defense , Gordon R . England . Beginning in October 2004 , Rogers served as Treasurer of the Washington , D . C . chapter of the American Veterans for Equal Rights ( AVER ) . On January 16 , 2005 , Rogers received an award from the organization for his service at a ceremony held at Dupont Grill . Rogers also attended events supporting the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network ( SLDN ) , which works to end the DADT policy . Rogers expressed his opinion on the " Don ' t Ask , Don ' t Tell " ( DADT ) policy in his Master ' s thesis , written in 2005 shortly before he was deployed to Iraq and reportedly killed by an improvised explosive device ( IED ) while on foot patrol : " Today ’ s current policy on gays in the military seems to rest on many faulty assumptions – namely that homosexuals will jeopardize unit cohesiveness . My research has been unable to justify that position and has found that the opposite is more true . Denying service members the right to serve freely and openly violates basic dignity and respect of the human experience and puts our national security at risk . " In June 2006 , Rogers provided the opening prayer for a same - sex wedding ceremony . Rogers reportedly expressed " an intensely deep loneliness that stemmed from his inability to have both a [ same - sex ] relationship . . . and the military career he also loved so much . " In July 2007 , Rogers was deployed to Iraq . Friends organized a send - off party in his honor on July 14 , 2007 , held at the Fabulous Bed & Breakfast in Northwest Washington , D . C . Rogers ' s commanding officer in Iraq was Col . Thomas Fernandez . Rogers communicated via e - mail with many of his friends during his deployment , and two of his friends from AVER received e - mail from Rogers the day before he died . Death and afterward . According to an Army report , Rogers was killed by an improvised explosive device while on foot patrol in Baghdad , on January 27 , 2008 . On January 30 , 2008 , friends of Rogers established the Alan G . Rogers Memorial Scholarship Fund . A funeral service was held for Rogers at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 8 , 2008 . In honor of Rogers , Florida Gov . Charlie Crist ordered the Florida and U . S . flags be flown at half - staff at the Bradford County Courthouse , Hampton City Hall and the Florida State Capitol . Family members later expressed that " we really didn ' t know about [ Rogers being gay ] until after his death . " Rogers ' beneficiary from Florida later stated that he knew Rogers was gay , but felt it had " no more relevance than I ' m straight . " Rogers was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on March 14 , 2008 , in Section 60 , at Gravesite 8558 . About 200 people attended the service , including Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England , Army Lt . Gen . John F . Kimmons , active duty military , both enlisted and officers , Rogers ' s friends and family from Florida , and Rogers ' s friends in northern Virginia , and Washington , D . C . Also in attendance were a dozen or more gay active duty military personnel . National media coverage of Rogers ' s funeral . Rogers ' s funeral gained national media publicity , initially on MSNBC , in the " Washington Post " and on National Public Radio ' s Morning Edition . However , initial reports omitted Rogers ' s sexual orientation or anything related to the subject . The Post and NPR reports coincided with the " grim milestone " that the U . S . Military death toll reached 4 , 000 dead . Rogers ' s death and funeral gained further media attention when it was revealed that he was gay and worked to end the military ' s DADT policy . Initially , members of the national media were well aware of Rogers ' s sexual orientation , yet it was widely reported that Rogers was not married and left no children . While technically accurate , some members of the LGBT community viewed the statement as an intentional distortion and dodge of Rogers ' s sexual orientation . Rogers ' s cousin , Cathy Long of Ocala , Fla . , said , " The Post did a wonderful job . Personally , as far as the family is concerned , we really didn ' t know about this until after his death . It was in the back of our minds , but we didn ' t discuss it . " Cathy Long accepted Rogers ' s flag at the major ' s funeral . " I really feel Alan was a lot more than that , " said Cathy Long who called the " Washington Blade " story " self - serving whatever their cause is and that they ' re trying to use Alan to do that . " The " Washington Post " Ombudsman , Deborah Howell , stated that the editors of the Post deliberated the question of whether to disclose his sexual orientation and ultimately made a decision not to include such information . The Army asked that Rogers ' s sexual orientation not be disclosed , and the Army presented it as a concern of the family . The " Washington Blade " reported on the Post ' s decision to change the story and included more details about Rogers ' s activities and friends in the LGBT community . Subsequently , Howell of the " Washington Post " , citing Rogers ' s apparent feelings on DADT , wrote a column admitting that the " Post ' s " article " would have been richer " had it disclosed his sexual orientation and activities in the GLBT community . On March 31 , 2008 , an anonymous attempt was made to remove information relating to Rogers ' s sexual orientation from the present Wikipedia article . The IP address associated with the attempt corresponds with the IP address for the office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence ( G - 2 ) at the Pentagon , currently headed by Lt . Gen . John Kimmons . Kimmons attended Rogers ' s funeral and presented the U . S . flag from Rogers ’ s coffin to a family member . The Army subsequently denied that the IP address associated with the changes " necessarily belongs to any one specific office . " The August 4 , 2008 , issue of " The New Yorker " magazine published a lengthy profile of Rogers , and the larger issues surrounding the DADT debate spurred on by his death . The story quotes Colonel Mike Hardy , who worked with Major Rogers at the Pentagon , as saying , " He did not make any moves to be remembered as a gay soldier . Nowhere in those phone calls home did he say , ' let everyone know that I died a proud gay officer . ' " Ben McGrath , the author of the article , then comments , " Of course , being a proud gay officer is tantamount , under the current military policy , to being a retired gay officer with no pension . " On December 18 , 2010 , the U . S . Senate passed a law ending the DADT policy , which was signed by President Barack Obama on July 22 , 2011 .