Murder of Allen R. Schindler Jr.

Allen R. Schindler Jr. (December 13, 1969 – October 27, 1992) was an American Radioman Petty Officer Third Class in the United States Navy who was murdered for being gay.

He was killed in a public toilet in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan, by Terry M. Helvey, who acted with the aid of an accomplice, Charles E. Vins, in what Esquire called a "brutal murder".

The case became synonymous with the debate concerning LGBT members of the military that had been brewing in the United States, culminating in the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Schindler's family was only able to identify him by the tattoos on his arms.

Allen R. Schindler Jr. was born on December 13, 1969, in Chicago Heights, Cook County, Illinois to Dorothy Hajdys, now known as Clausen or Hajdys-Clausen, and Allen Schindler Sr. His parents divorced when he was four years old.

Schindler was the third of four children and brought up in the Christian faith.

He had two older sisters, Barbara and Kathy Eickhoff, and one younger half-sibling, William "Billy" Hajdys.

Schindler was from a naval family; his grandfather served in World War II and his stepfather in the Vietnam War.

Following in their footsteps, Schindler enlisted while still in junior high at Bloom High School.

He graduated from Camp Pendleton in November 1988.

Schindler served in the Navy for four years (1988–1992) as a radioman on the USS San Jose, the USS Midway, and on the amphibious assault ship USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3) in Sasebo, Nagasaki, where he was serving at the time of his death.

According to several of his friends, Schindler had complained repeatedly of anti-gay harassment to his chain of command in March and April 1992, citing incidents such as the gluing-shut of his locker and frequent comments from shipmates such as "There's a faggot on this ship and he should die".

Schindler's complaints continued to go unanswered.

By September, he had reached his breaking point and requested to see the captain, but his request was denied.

While on transport from San Diego, California, to Sasebo, the USS Belleau Wood made a brief stop in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Afterward, en route to Japan, Schindler broadcast an unauthorized statement "2-Q-T-2-B-S-T-R-8" (too cute to be straight) on secure lines reaching much of the Pacific Fleet.

On September 24, Schindler met with the ship's executive officer.

At the meeting and with the ship's chaplain present, Schindler formally declared he was gay and requested a transfer and discharge.

Schindler also informed his commanding officer, Captain Douglas J. Bradt, and the ship's legal officer, Captain Bernard Meyer.

He was told the processing of his discharge would take two weeks, but his superiors insisted he remain on his ship until the process was finished.

Though he knew his safety was at risk, Schindler obeyed orders.

The next day, he was called to appear at captain's mast for the unauthorized radio message.

He had requested that the hearing be closed for confidentiality, but Captain Bradt disregarded his request, and it was open, with two hundred to three hundred people in attendance.

Schindler made no open admission of his homosexuality at the mast.

Some shipmates took it as an invitation to harass him with impunity.

Schindler's rank was reduced from RM1 to RM3, and he was placed on a thirty-day restriction aboard the ship.

He was unable to leave the ship until a few weeks after arriving at Sasebo and four days before his death.

Airman Apprentice Terry M. Helvey, who was a member of the ship's weather department (OA Division, Operations Department), stomped Schindler to death in a bathroom in a park in Sasebo, Nagasaki.

A key witness, Jonathan Witte, saw Helvey repeatedly stomp on Schindler's body while singing.

Witte then ran to retrieve Shore Patrolmen nearby, which startled Helvey and his accomplice, Charles E. Vins, into running from the bathroom.

Witte returned with Shore Patrolmen in less than 30 seconds and saw Schindler lying on the floor, struggling to breathe through a mouthful of blood.

Witte and Shore Patrolmen carried Schindler to the nearby Albuquerque Bridge where he died from his injuries.

Witte had met Schindler previously two days before his murder, but given the gravity of his injuries, he was unable to recognize Schindler.

A second witness to the attack, Schindler's shipmate and friend Keith Sims, was also unable to recognize him.

Schindler had "at least four fatal injuries to the head, chest, and abdomen," his face and head was crushed, and the globes of his eyes were burst and ruptured.

His nose was broken; his upper jaw was broken; the whole middle portion of his face was detached and floating loosely.

His killing remained front-page news throughout the spring of 1993.

The case was later featured in The New York Times and Esquire.

The events surrounding Schindler's murder were the subject of ABC's 20/20 episode and were portrayed in the 1997 TV film Any Mother's Son.

In 1998, Any Mother's Son won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Made for TV Movie.