New York military veteran comes out in obituary: ‘I was gay all my life’

Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan, who died at age 85, will be buried next to his life partner Paul Cavagnaro

A US military veteran who died earlier this month came out as gay in an obituary published after his death.

The obituary in the Albany Times-Union tells the story of Colonel Edward Thomas Ryan, a decorated army officer who served in the Vietnam war and was also a fireman in his hometown, Rensselaer, New York. He died on 1 June at the age 85.