Remembering Pfc. Barry Winchell on the 10th Anniversary of His Murder
Pfc. Barry L. Winchell of the 101st Airborne Infantry was murdered in his bed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in the pre-dawn hours of July 5th, 1999 while he lay sleeping. His killer, a nineteen year old fellow soldier wielding a Louisville Slugger baseball bat, struck him with such savage ferocity that bits of Winchell's brain and bone, mixed with blood, sprayed against the wall behind his bed like a red halo.
Barry Winchell never regained consciousness. He died of massive head injuries at Vanderbilt Hospital on July 6th, when his grief-stricken mother, Pat Kutteles, kissed her only son goodbye, and watched as a machine tracked the life leaving her son's shattered body; the same body she'd once wrapped in blankets and held in her arms. He was twenty-two years old.
The vision of hell visited upon Pat Kutteles ten years ago was very much on my mind this past Independence Day weekend, and not only because it's the tenth anniversary of the murder of her only child.
Barry Winchell was also one of the earliest martyrs to Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
Four months earlier, Winchell, who identified as straight, had become romantically involved with a transsexual woman named Calpernia Addam, a nightclub performer in nearby Nashville. When his roommate, Justin Fisher, became aware of this, he turned Winchell's life into a waking nightmare of harassment, innuendo, and rumor.
Branding Barry Winchell "the faggot" was a cruelly effective enterprise: under the terms of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Winchell had no choice but to keep his head down and endure the escalating brutality. Mentioning it, or even revealing the increasingly sinister abuse, would have meant his expulsion from the army. So he didn't complain. He didn't tell anyone, not his commanding officers, not his girlfriend, Calpernia Addams.
And especially not his parents, Pat and Wally Kutteles back home in Kansas City.
For his part, Justin Fisher appeared to have found the ultimate solution to the problem posed by "the faggot" Barry Winchell. On July 4, 1999, after a barbecue on the base accompanied by a great deal of alcohol, Fisher spent the afternoon needling and goading nineteen year old Calvin Glover about a fight he'd lost to Barry Winchell earlier in the day.
What sort of a man, Fisher taunted, what sort of a real man would lose a fight to a faggot like Barry Winchell?
Glover, already emotionally disturbed, and growing drunker and drunker as the shadows of the day grew longer, would have been easy to taunt. Goading him to the point of murder would have been like lighting a long fuse on a raft of Independence Day fireworks. When the midnight hour came and went, Fisher put the baseball bat into Glover's hands and aimed him, fatally, into the darkness towards Barry Winchell's sleeping form. In the classic hate crime modus operandi, the bat only struck Winchell's head, face, and upper torso area, as if Glover were trying to not only kill his victim, but to obliterate any trace of what he represented.
I spent the summer of 2002 on assignment for The Advocate on the set of Soldier's Girl, the Ron Nyswaner-directed film of Barry Winchell's last months. Soldier's Girl is told primarily from the point of view of Calpernia Addams. It would go on to win the Peabody Award for Nyswaner, and secure Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for its stars, Troy Garity and Lee Pace. It's a beautiful and powerful film about the terrible cost of love and courage.
But I felt I needed the missing part of the story in my reportage, so in the winter of 2003, I flew to Kansas City to meet, and spend the day with Pat Kutteles and her husband, Wally, who had by then become activists against Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Barry's murder had put Pat and Wally Kutteles in an odd position. While their son didn't identify as gay, he was the victim of an anti-gay hate crime. One that simmered, then reached a boiling point, under the restrictions Don't Ask, Don't Tell kept him from reporting.
"When I found out what happened to Barry, and why -- that it was a hate crime -- I went after the military," Pat told me. "Barry was pointed out and labeled gay. He was harassed daily for four months. What about the safety of the other men and women in the military, the gays and lesbians who are just trying to serve their country? What about their safety? They have parents, they have families, and no one is protecting them. If we don't fight against hate crimes, and for those people who are targeted, I feel as is we're letting Barry down. Because that's what Barry would have fought for. [As a soldier] he would have fought for the rights of everybody. No matter how hard it is, no matter how long it takes, I have to fight for my son's ideals. And that's what we're doing.
The Barry Winchell Courage Award is presented every year by Pat and Wally Kutteles in their son's memory at the annual Servicemen's Legal Defense Network's annual dinner.
Every year, Barry's parents travel to Washington at their own expense to talk to Congress about what happened to their son, reliving the horror of his murder anew, ripping open emotional wounds that are nearly unimaginable to most people in an attempt to convince lawmakers of the terrible flaws of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
If their voices are drowned out, ten years later, by the roar of more general outrage over this discriminatory policy, their voices are among the original ones -- still strong, still constant, and still unforgiving in the truths they tell.
Even though a reported 75% of Americans support the complete repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the Obama administration continues to dither and waffle about the policy, with Colin Powell recently suggesting that it be "reviewed" -- by now familiar Washington-speak for wheel-spinning as long as possible in the hope that critics calling for the immediate fulfillment of one of Obama's most important campaign promises, will be at least temporarily appeased.
Against this cold gray-flannel wall of slick political opportunism comes the seared, cauterized, open heart of Pat Kutteles and the memory of her murdered son.
The real cost of Don't Ask, Don't Tell has always been the human one -- Barry Winchell's life, of course, beaten out of him with a baseball bat over the 4th of July weekend 10 years ago while, all across the country, his fellow Americans -- the ones he'd sworn an oath to defend -- were celebrating freedom and independence, and all the ideals that make the United States a beacon of freedom and democracy, a clarion call to the pursuit of the highest human ideals.
But also the lives and careers of thousands of American soldiers, patriots all, sons and daughters all, who would have been willing and proud to lay those lives down in the service of their fellow Americans.
Today they have names like Dan Choi and Victor Fehrenbach. Tomorrow, sadly, they will have other names.
As for me, I learned everything I needed to know about true courage from a bereaved mother in a cemetery in Kansas City in 2003. At Barry's grave, as the frozen amber sunlight died to black in the midwinter night wind, it was I who wept, and Pat Kutteles held me.
"I feel Barry died for a reason," she'd told me. "I feel that there's a reason things happen. That's also one of the reasons I keep fighting. That gives me comfort, in a way. I don't know that there's anything that gives me total comfort, though. Sometimes when we're home alone, going through our day-to-day stuff, I feel alone. I feel that there's nobody who really cares what kind of a person he was. No one who shares our anger and our grief over what's happening to others out there. And then something will happen that reminds us that there are people out there who care, and who are fighting with us. Then I feel a little bit better. But often I feel like I'm really alone, and really, really missing my child."
Barry L. Winchell
1977-1999
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Gut-wrenching! The older I get, the more I want to do something to help overturn DADT.
Would you (or anyone else reading) know if there is an online copy of the defense of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” brief that President Obama’s DOJ presented to the Supreme Court? I have made several searches including, “Pietrangelo v Gates.” Despite more than a couple of hours of effort, the results have been frustratingly unfruitful.
A URL or even a point in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your article...
Check this out and look under some of the comments. I think Pietrangelo provided the link for the brief.
http://www
Also if you want to help repeal DADT. Write or call your lawmakers, the White House and Defense Secretary Gates. Let your voice me heard. 75% of Americans want the law repealed. It is a disgrace on our military and on this country.
This just proves that violence of any order threatens gays and straights alike. Can this be routed out by more education? More spiritual insight? I don't know. This tragedy is still being played out today. I see no end in sight.
I grew up in a time and place where blacks were still openly called n*****s to their faces - if they were outnumbered - and contempt and hatred of non-whites, even Mediterranean whites, was taught in every home in my city. Today, such behavior would be unthinkable, even in the darkest, meanest little town in the South.
People can and do change. That 75% of Americans want to just do away with DADT is a huge change from just 15 years ago, when the majority of the nation favored it.
I agree. In many ways the black-gay comparison is much closer than the black-women one because the objections are societally based and not performance based. While I am ambivalent for policy reasons, I think the 1993 law will be repealed within 5-10 years, especially if we are at peace.
Wow. Thank you for this. Somehow, I had never heard about it before.
Please go rent Soldier's Girl.
It is a very moving film.
It is sad and disturbing. It is not for young children due to the hate and violence.
The two main actors, Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) and Troy Garity were wonderful and deserved the accolades they received for this film.
How very sad. I'll never understand the mentality that justifies murder because someone is different.
Michael,
Thank you for another touching blog. Again, I can't stop crying. I too wish I could hug his mother.
When will the World be tolerant of others? I hope in my lifetime I see some kind of change in the right direction for acceptance.
That photograph. My ma has one exactly like it of me on her mantle.
Gay bashing has never been right. With the overwhelming evidence that homosexuality is both inborn and biological, there is no justification for considering a sin.
I've remember Barry almost every day since he died. He's always been there in my mind. His photograph stays in my mind. Now I have more details about him. I've fought for equal rights since then because of him.
Michael, I'm crying again for Barry and more determined. Tell Pat we will never forget.
Steve
I feel now as I did then that the barbaric murder of PFC Winchell was mischaracterized by the media and exploited by some for political reasons. While his orientation was certainly a factor in his death, I don't think it was "why" he was killed. A souless cretin, fueled by alcohol and shame, was egged on by a peer so much that he murdered him in cowardly and cold blood.
If anything, the incident showed the problems associated with the commander-
I don't understand what you mean when you say "his orientation was certainly a factor in his death, I don't think it was 'why' he was killed" ? Maybe you're not aware, but alcohol is a mood enhancer, and as such, either the perpetrator or his co-conspirator were latent homophobes who might not have acted on their feelings and beliefs had it not been for the alcohol. So that leaves 2 choices, either you get rid of alcohol in the military, or you work on education and sensitivity and tolerance training of soldiers so there are no feelings to be fueled by alcohol, and if the sexual orientation of Pfc Winchell was a factor in his death, then it is a hate crime, whether the perp was a bigot or only bowing to the pressure of his co-conspirator homophobic bigots
Just as I said, I don't think it was the primary reason (which is part of my problem with so-called hate crimes, it attempts to get inside the head of the perpetrator) but certainly played a significant role, perhaps even a catalyst.
Yes, I am familiar with alcohol and has a myriad of effects and different people react differently. Your conclusion that they must have been homophobes is guesswork.
To address your point on the solution, however, the military has typically banned alcohol for overseas deployment dating back to the intervention in Bosnia.
His orientation was straight!
True. I think most people overlooked that and the fact that the woman he dated was a post-op transsexual woman, so he would be hetero. But in the perp's mind, because she was a TS she was still male, so in the perp's sad and twisted mind Pfc Winchell was gay
Sad
Then why does Rowe insist that Winchell was powerless to combat Fisher's harassment?
Actually, he's somewhat inaccurate in regard to Winchell's rights. Mentioning the harassment or defending himself verbally would not have been a violation of the regulation, to my knowledge.
DADT has largely worked? For whom? Certainly not the brave gay and lesbian soldiers who put their lives on the line only to be tossed out of the military (along with their skills and all the money it took to train them) for no other reason that they are gay. The real problem here is the immature, homophobic straight boys who are afraid their asses might be checked out in the shower and become irrational when gays are involved.
It worked in the sense that it allowed some homosexuals to serve without and undue change in military order and discipline. Entering the military involves a legal contract. Under DADT, homosexual servicemen signed up agreeing not to reveal their orientation while the military agreed not to ask it upon entry. Keep in mind the law still technically prevented homosexuals from service but President Clinton sought to circumvent the law through policy.
Now we can argue whether the law is unfair or not, but the fact remains people who wanted to serve could and the military did not see an appreciable change in morale and cohesion.
Your last line is typical what i have seen regarding this issue. That may be part of the reason, but it is no less legitimate than those who wish to keep the sexes separated for billeting and hygiene reasons.
I wish I could give Pat a hug and let her know that I care.
I have the dvd of Soldier's Girl. The performances of the two stars devastated me.
DADT is an outrage and it's not right to ask gays and lesbians in the service to live so dishonorably.
How can you (meaning anyone) not be outraged and ashamed at how our military, a branch of the US government allows this to happen. Hate crimes legislation is simply not enough. Yes, we need hate crime laws, but we also need better education and intervention into the lives of the victims, AND the potential perpetrators of these heinous crimes. But, of course, because DADT is law, there can not be counseling and intervention regarding sexual orientation related crimes.
I swear, it just makes me want to scream and wring someone's neck, But I'll just have to settle for bawling myself to sleep as I contemplate the thousands of Pfc Winchell's that exist and have existed and will continue to exist until this dispicable law is repealed
Outrages, yes. Ashamed, no. This was a despicable criminal act by one or two angry, drunken cowards. The military did not allow this to happen no more than the government "allows" drunk drivers or thugs to kill people.
The military routinely covers up anti-gay crimes committed by service personnel. Just last week a young soldier was shot to death in what many consider an anti-gay hate crime. This same soldier was being harrassed for being gay and had expressed fearIng his life was in danger, yet couldn't express those fears to his commanding officers because then he would have outed himself right out of the military thanks to DADT. His partner found out he had been killed by a reporter covering the story! When the military allows anti-gay harrassment to continue and then covers up gay bashings and murders, IT IS ALLOWING IT TO HAPPEN!!!
I became acquainted with Barry (and you) through your 2003 Advocate article. The ghost came back to life through his parents’ retelling of memories.
Once again, your words have brought Barry’s plight into the open. This powerful HP piece is a testament to not only the struggles facing gays and lesbians under the DADT policy, but also a testament to your dedication to our servicemen and servicewomen. Thank you for remembering Barry and his family, and for encouraging us to take action.
Sat down to have my requisite morning coffee, opened e-mail, saw the Rowe by-line, read the piece. So intense it took me an hour to return to the computer.
There have been a couple of pieces of investigative reporting where the deaths and lives of the victims were so vivid I cannot forget. This is another.
And yes, it's personal. Many in my family were or are currently career military. Not that we're warmongers. We're the descendants of unemployed loggers.
Economic cannon fodder, expendables in the war on working people. The kids of the educated and economic elites go to the best universities; we go to underfunded community colleges.
It's personal for other reasons as well. I'm transgendered and gay. Let me explain. I was born physically female. But always knew I was a boy.
That's the psyche-- mine is male. I am attracted almost entirely to men-- for me same-sex, thus I'm gay.
It is of course difficult to know precisely. But sounds like Barry Winchell was dating a woman. That's right, a woman.
If transgendered, his girlfirend was simply that. Maybe he was secure enough not to be threatened by long gone physical features of someone he liked.
It doesn't matter. Barry is dead. We've lost another young man. Why is hatred of difference ever a justification for such viciousness?
Why is diffference the justification for war? Like the one we're in now.
Which places other young people at risk for horrendous injury and death.
Michael, This is an amazing piece. Made me cry. Thank you, thank you. Too often people think that laws are about their immediate effects and don't understand that legal discrimination leads to the understanding that all forms of discirmination are acceptable. We need more pieces like this to remind us that this assumption is not correct.
Tried finding information on Barry Mitchell and found nothing. However, Googled Fisher and found the "traditional values coalition". Scary site. Very warped distored views.
In answer to my question about the time being served for the murder of Barry...Fi
See Michael Rowe's Profile
Thanks for the kind words, Chlowina. It's Barry Winchell, not Mitchell. If you do another search, I'm sure you will find more information!
Ah jeez... so sorry. Will try again. Thanks and blessings.
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