Helen G. James

Helen Grace James (born in Pennsylvania) is a physical therapist and U.S. military veteran. She served in the United States Air Force, where she achieved the rank of Airman Second Class. She was discharged from the military as "undesirable" during the Lavender Scare campaign to remove lesbian and gay people from government employment in links with the anti-communist campaign. In 1960, she was able to upgrade her status from "undesirable" to "General Discharge under Honorable Conditions". In 2018, she successfully sued the U.S. Air Force to upgrade her discharge to "honorable,” which allowed her to receive full veteran benefits that were previously unavailable to her.