Colonel Edward Ryan, an army veteran and retired firefighter, has come out as gay in his obituary to “forever rest in peace”.
According to his biography, Ryan was a retired fireman in Rensselaer, New York, and one of the owners and founders of the Albany radio station WHRL-FM.
For his role in the army, he was awarded with “The National Defense Service Medal” and “Defense of Liberty Medal” for “participation to the State following the attack on America, 11 September 2001”.
After the obituary listed his plethora of achievements, Ryan issued a statement in which he opened up about his identity and why he stayed closeted. “I must tell you one more thing.