West Point Cadet Let Down by Hometown

Former West Point cadet Katie Miller, who resigned this month over the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, said that the reaction has been largely positive, except for the criticism from people in her Ohio hometown.

Miller, who hails from Findlay, spoke with the Toledo Blade about the experience.

"I was shocked that I didn't receive more support than that from my hometown," said Miller, a 2008 graduate of Findlay High School, according to the Blade. "I think the Findlay area has been especially harsh on me - just really wary of what my intentions were."

She added, "These are the people I spent most of my childhood growing up with … so I was hoping that Findlay would be able to accept me as one of their own and to support me in this. But I ended up getting some of my toughest critics from my hometown, and that personally disturbed me."

Although Miller has not returned home since her story broke, she based her assessment on reader comments on the websites of local newspapers.

Miller received widespread attention, including an appearance on The Rachel Maddow Show, after her resignation letter, in which she came out, appeared on the website for Knights Out, a group for gay and lesbian West Point alumni. For months prior to her resignation, Miller had been blogging anonymously as "Private Second Class Citizen" for the lesbian website Velvet Park.

Ranked ninth in her junior class at West Point, Miller has transferred to Yale University.