• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
US Army Veteran waits until death to reveal lifelong 'secret' in emotional obituary

Home> News> US News

Updated 09:37 14 Jun 2024 GMT+1Published 09:30 14 Jun 2024 GMT+1

US Army Veteran waits until death to reveal lifelong 'secret' in emotional obituary

"Now that my secret is known, I'll forever Rest in Peace."

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

A US Army Veteran waited until death before revealing his lifelong 'secret' in an obituary.

Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan was a decorated solider in the US military, serving in the Vietnam War as well as establishing Albany radio station WHRL-FM and working as a fireman in Rensselaer, New York.

Despite an eventful life, the 85-year-old kept one secret until he died, deciding to reveal his full identity to the world only after passing away.

Advert

Sharing deathbed secrets is not something which is uncommon, as there's numerous stories of individuals revealing secret double lives or admitting to crimes in their final moments.

However for Col. Ryan, his obituary has gone viral after he revealed he'd lived as a gay man in secret throughout his whole life due to fears of being 'ostracised'.

Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan came out in his obituary (Tina McCarthy/Legacy.com)
Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan came out in his obituary (Tina McCarthy/Legacy.com)

"I must tell you one more thing. I was Gay all my life: thru grade school, thru High School, thru College, thru Life," he wrote in the obituary, which can be read in full on Legacy.com.

Ryan also went on to reveal the identity of his lifelong partner, a man named Paul Cavagnaro, calling him 'the love of my life'.

Advert

"I was in a loving and caring relationship with Paul Cavagnaro of North Greenbush. He was the love of my life. We had 25 great years together. Paul died in 1994 from a medical Procedure gone wrong. I'll be buried next to Paul."

Ryan went on to pen a tearjerking apology for not revealing his sexuality openly, stating that it was a fear of homophobic backlash which kept him from sharing it openly with the world.

Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan feared he would be ostracized (Legacy/Tina McCarthy)
Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan feared he would be ostracized (Legacy/Tina McCarthy)

"I'm sorry for not having the courage to come out as Gay. I was afraid of being ostracised: by Family, Friends, and Co-Workers. Seeing how people like me were treated, I just could not do it," he added.

"Now that my secret is known, I'll forever Rest in Peace."

Advert

Although Ryan's exact date of birth was not confirmed in the obituary, his age means that he was either born in 1938 or 1939.

It's worth noting that public opinion on same-sex relationships in the US only began to change in the 1980s, while gay and lesbian people were only allowed to begin serving in the US military from 1993 as long as they didn't disclose their sexuality.

This was later repealed in 2011, finally allowing gay, lesbian, and bisexual people to serve openly. This means that during Ryan's career, he would have been discharged from the military should he have revealed his sexuality.

People have praised the military veteran (Tina McCarthy/Legacy.com)
People have praised the military veteran (Tina McCarthy/Legacy.com)

Ryan's words and the fact that he felt forced to hide a huge part of his identity had a huge impact on readers, with several people penning emotional messages to the late solider and his family.

Advert

"My condolences to the family. My respect to you Col. Ryan you served our country for my freedom, I am so sorry you did not get to feel that freedom for yourself. I will think of you has a hero. You and Paul fly high, fly free," one person wrote.

"Sir, may you rest in pride, alongside Paul, in whatever afterlife there may be. I am sorry that the people you fought so hard to keep safe and protect failed to show you the same love, support, and respect," a second person added.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]

Featured Image Credit: (Tina McCarthy/Legacy.com)

Topics: US News, LGBTQ

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

X

@_brencoco

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
10 hours ago
  • 9 hours ago

    British tourist left fighting for her life after catching deadly lung disease on all-inclusive holiday

    Donna Jobling was placed in a medically induced coma 11 days ago after her holiday to Crete took a tragic turn

    News
  • 9 hours ago

    Satellite images show impact site of US bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities

    New satellite snaps have revealed the extent of damage done by the US on Iran's military base

    News
  • 9 hours ago

    Man posed as a flight attendant for over 100 free flights in case compared to Catch Me If You Can

    Tiron Alexander was found guilty of wire fraud and unlawfully entering a secure airport area under false pretences earlier this month

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Government issues serious sexual health warning for Mounjaro users as weight loss drug set to be available on NHS

    The advice from officials is for a specific group of people

    News
  • US 'doomsday plane' used never-before-seen secret flight code when making 'highly unusual' flight
  • US Army officially begins recruiting soldiers to fight in space
  • Secret US file Donald Trump could now reveal following Joe Rogan podcast promise
  • American living in the US is dedicated to becoming a fully blown scouser