The Richard L. Schlegel Legion of Honor Award is administered by the GLBTA Resource Center and recognizes individuals living in the United States who have exhibited outstanding leadership and significantly contributed to the dignity and freedom of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. The presentation of the Legion of Honor Award serves as an opportunity to:

Richard L. Schlegel was an American University alumnus and a pioneer in the GLBT civil rights movement. Richard fought discrimination based on sexual orientation in the late 1950s and early 1960s, long before GLBT rights were discussed openly. His own wrongful termination case against the Department of the Army, Schlegel vs. United States, was pursued all the way to the Supreme Court (and also documented as a chapter in the 2002 book Courting Justice by Joyce Murdoch and Deb Price).

Past Richard L. Schlegel National Legion of Honor Award Recipients