Knowles, Cheryl (Cheryl Dinning). Interview May 16, 2013

Interview with Cheryl Knowles (Cheryl Dinning), Petty Officer First Class, United States Navy. In her interview, Knowles discusses her enlistment, basic and advanced training, and four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Knowles also discusses life in the Navy, including shipboard life, as well as what it was like serving in the Navy as a lesbian during the Don't Act, Don't Tell era, and how it forced her to lead a double life and impacted her ability to be her genuine self and to grieve the loss of her daughter.

This interview was conducted as part of the War At Home and Abroad (WAHA) project, conducted by the California State University San Marcos History Department, from 2012-2013. WAHA aimed to document, preserve, and make accessible the experiences of CSUSM's student veterans related to the Gulf wars and Afghani War. Portions of this interview were edited, including the removal of the interviewer from the recording.

2013-05-16

California State University San Marcos University Library

War At Home and Abroad oral histories

California State University San Marcos

video

WAHA-01

Oral Histories

Community history, LGBTQIA+ experience, Veteran experience, War At Home and Abroad oral histories, Women's experience

Cheryl Knowles (Cheryl Dinning), “Knowles, Cheryl (Cheryl Dinning). Interview May 16, 2013,” Voices of North County, accessed September 15, 2025, https://archivesoralhistories.csusm.edu/items/show/486.