05/25/2026
❤️🤍💙 This Memorial Day, we at the Rainbow Center honor all who sacrificed for this country, including those that defended freedoms they did not fully have 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
LGBTQIA2S+ service members have had to suffer in silence, or faced discharge for simply trying to exist as they were 🕊️ Many were lost tragically early, buried with their truth unspoken.
All service members are honored today, and we wanted to highlight a few of these LGBTQIA2S+ military veterans with our community 💕
🕯️Jessie Shipps, she/her (Air Force): An active member of the transgender military advocacy group SPARTA; for eleven years, Jessie served her country in the U.S. Air Force from September 2003 until September 2014 and achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant. She documented her Journey on YouTube before tragically dying by su***de in 2015.
🕯️Tiffany Thomas, she/her: A black trans veteran who was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas, on April 24, 2021. In an injustice compounding this tragedy, Tiffany was misgendered and misnamed in some media and police reports. Her death was part of a record-breaking year for fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people in the United States.
🕯️Elisa Rae Shupe, she/her (Army): A veteran and advocate who was the first person to receive an "X" gender marker on a New York State ID. Due to the public abuse and misery she faced, Shupe chose to de-transition and re-transition later in life. While grappling with the VA in order to access gender-affirming care, she tragically died by su***de in 2025.
🕯️Vanity Williams, she/her (Air Force): After spending her life serving her country and community, Williams worked hard to pursue her own dreams of opening her own med spa. She was tragically shot and killed in Houston, Texas, in August 2024. She is remembered by her friends and community by her phrase: “I don’t fear death! I fear injustice!”
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
Your courage won’t be forgotten. Your truth won’t be erased. Your service matters.
