Chief Warrant Officer Charlie Morgan, a vocal opponent against the Defense of Marriage Act, died earlier today (10 January).

'She made an indelible mark on everyone she met with her integrity, her positive outlook, and her unflinching commitment to righting the wrongs visited upon gay and lesbian military families,' said Allyson Robinson, the executive director of OutServe-SLDN, in a statement. 'The fight for full LGBT equality in this country is forever changed because Charlie Morgan took up the cause.'

OutServe-SLDN is a non-profit advocacy organization that works with LGBT military members, veterans and their families.

In 2011 September, the day Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed, Morgan came out on the news channel MSNBC. She and her wife, Karen, are two of the plaintiffs involved in a lawsuit against DOMA. That law, passed in 1996, prevents the military from providing equal recognition and support to same-sex  spouses and families. Because of DOMA, Morgan's spouse and four year old child will receive no survivor benefits.

In 2008, Morgan was diagnosed with breast cancer. After undergoing a double mastectomy and rounds of therapy, she was cleared to serve. In 2010, Morgan did one year in Kuwait. However, when she returned it was discovered her cancer returned. It is now metastatic and incurable. The Concord Monitor reported Morgan's doctors have given her months to live.

Last month she recited the Pledge of Allegiance at the swearing in ceremony of  New Hampshire Governor-Maggie Hassan.