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.. 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.

Background 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 came from a naval family; his grandfather served in World War II, and his stepfather survived the sinking of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. Following in their footsteps, Schindler enlisted while in his junior year at Bloom High School. He graduated from Naval Station Great Lakes 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 in Sasebo, Nagasaki, where he was serving at the time of his death.

In January 1991, Schindler was assigned to the USS Midway. The eleven months he spent aboard the ship were his happiest days in the Navy. Schindler received a patch for his involvement in the Desert Storm campaign."Don't Ask Don't Tell". 2019. Event occurs at 00:05:24. In December, Schindler was transferred to the USS Belleau Wood, and the harassment began almost immediately. 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 Belleau Wood 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 following day, Schindler 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,"Don't Ask Don't Tell". 2019. Event occurs at 00:31:55. 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."Don't Ask Don't Tell". 2019. Event occurs at 00:32:05. 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.

In the last days of his life, Schindler held a leadership position on the Belleau Wood, where he taught self-defense and political activism. Schindler was befriended by three civilian entertainers working in Sasebo, who were subsequently instrumental in bringing details surrounding his murder to public attention.

Murder On Tuesday, October 27, 1992, around 11:00 p.m.,"Don't Ask Don't Tell". 2019. Event occurs at 00:37:38. airman apprentice Terry M. Helvey, who was a member of the Belleau Wood ship's weather department (OA Division, Operations Department), and his accomplice, airman apprentice Charles E. Vins, followed Schindler into a public restroom in Sasebo Park near the U.S. naval base in Sasebo, Nagasaki. There, Helvey punched, choked, and kicked Schindler to the floor, then stomped him to death. Vins, who occasionally joined in, later recounted:

A key witness, Belleau Wood shipmate Jonathan Witte, saw Helvey repeatedly stomp on Schindler's body while singing. Witte then ran to retrieve shore patrolmen nearby, which startled Helvey and Vins into running from the restroom. 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 was taken to a medical clinic on the base at 11:50 p.m., where medical staff attempted to save his life for nineteen minutes. He was pronounced dead at 12:09 a.m. on October 28.

Schindler had "at least four fatal injuries to the head, chest, and abdomen." He had eight broken ribs, his face and head were crushed, and the globes of his eyes were burst and ruptured.Sprinkle 2011, p. 260. His nose was broken; his upper jaw was broken; the whole middle portion of his face was detached and floating loosely. There were bruises and cuts on the surface of his neck, head, and chest; there were bruises on his brain, on his lungs, his heart. The pericardial sac around his heart was filled with 250 milliliters of blood, "enough to top off a juice glass." His liver had been turned to pulp "like a tomato smushed up inside its cover." The impact of blows to the chest had torn his aorta, with "a blunt force exceeding a 20 G force.""Don't Ask Don't Tell". 2019. Event occurs at 00:39:21 His bladder had been ripped open, his penis had been bruised and lacerated, and he had "sneaker-tread marks stamped on his forehead and chest", destroying "every organ in his body",. leaving behind a "nearly unrecognizable corpse.". Jonathan Witte was asked to explain in detail to the military court what the crime scene looked like, but he refused, as Schindler's mother and sister were present in the courtroom. Navy Commander Edward Kilbane, the medical examiner who conducted the autopsy on Schindler's body, compared Schindler's injuries to those sustained by a victim of a fatal horse trampling, saying they were worse "than the damage to a person who'd been stomped by a horse; they were similar to what might be sustained in a high-speed car crash or a low-speed aircraft accident." After reading Schindler's medical report, Hajdys-Clausen said that "just about everything was damaged except his heart."

Details revealed

The Navy was less than forthcoming about the details of the killing, both to the news media and to the victim's family, especially his mother, Dorothy Hajdys-Clausen.. Navy officials failed to include his belongings: the log book Schindler kept of his time on board, and his record of harassment he was receiving on the advice of friends.

In the wake of Schindler's murder, the Navy denied that it had received any complaints of harassment and refused to speak publicly about the case or to release the Japanese police report on the murder.

Several Belleau Wood shipmates reported receiving harassment before and after Schindler's death. Keith Sims stated that he had reported Helvey and Vins to the ship's legal officer, Captain Bernard Meyer, but nothing was done in response. In the 2018 TV documentary crime series, The 1990s: The Deadliest Decade, Jonathan Witte stated that he had been personally threatened by Captain Bradt and the Belleau Wood executive officer."Don't Ask Don't Tell". 2019. Event occurs at 00:18:11. "The executive officer explains to me that whatever happened in that park, you are not to tell anybody. Not even your friends, not the media, not your family—nobody. Keep it a secret because we wouldn't want what happened to that guy to happen to you."

The Navy dismissed its failure to inform Hajdys-Clausen of Vin's court martial as "a bureaucratic screw-up." With the help of veteran LGBTQ rights activists Michael Petrelis and Miriam Ben-Shalom, Hajdys-Clausen took Schindler's case to the public. In 2015, after 23 years of repeated Freedom of Information Act requests from Petrelis, the Navy released a conclusive 900-page report admitting Schindler was harassed. Petrelis stated:

On November 7, 1992, a wake was held for Schindler in his hometown of Chicago Heights, Illinois. Schindler was buried with full military honors. The day before, when Schindler's family was called down to the funeral home, his mother requested that his coffin be opened after the Navy advised against it. "There was a sailor in dress blues ... but it looked nothing like the boy I'd kissed goodbye two months earlier," Hajdys-Clausen said. At the wake, Schindler's sister Kathy asked that the coffin be opened again. They could only identify him by the tattoos on his arms, as his face was so disfigured.

Trial and outcomes During the trial, Helvey denied that he killed Schindler because he was gay, stating, "I did not attack him because he was homosexual", but evidence presented by Navy investigator Kennon F. Privette from the interrogation of Helvey the day after the murder showed otherwise. "He said he hated homosexuals. He was disgusted by them," Privette said. On killing Schindler, Privette quoted Helvey as saying: "I don't regret it. I'd do it again. ... He deserved it." Helvey then told Privette he "always wondered what it would feel like to kill a man." When Privette suggested he express some remorse, Helvey blamed the attack on Schindler on the Navy, saying: "I regret this incident happened and I feel like it could have been averted had homosexuals not been allowed in the military."

On May 3, seeking to avoid a possible death sentence, Helvey pleaded guilty to unpremeditated murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.