LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Sheng’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) solo photography exhibition is being displayed at the Kaycee Olsen Gallery in Los Angeles until Oct. 23.

The exhibition series is the first to feature the photographs and stories of more than 60 men and women now serving under DADT.

In 1987, when Margaret Witt first joined the Air Force, her future looked bright. The number of women in the USAF was growing explosively; an acclaimed flight nurse, she gained rank quickly. Soon, she was commanding a highly-regarded medical evacuation unit that deployed for those in both Iraq wars. Then came 2004, when the Air Force had discovered that she was living with a same-sex partner and began an investigation that ended Witt’s 18-year career. But last week, Witt got her career back — and may have dealt a fatal blow to the policy that ended it.

Joseph Rocha had always wanted to be in the military. He enlisted in the Navy on his 18th birthday, trained to become a handler working with explosive-sniffing dogs, and found himself part of a small, specialized unit in Bahrain. Banned by law from discussing his sexual orientation, he had a hard time explaining to his peers why he didn’t party with them, or even join their bawdy conversations. He became an outcast. Fellow sailors ridiculed him for being gay. At one point they locked him in a dog kennel. Another time they forced him to eat dog food.

Kerry Eleveld, Washington correspondent for The Advocate magazine, discussed the DADT repeal failure in the Senate on the Rachel Maddow show Wednesday night.

Before speaking with Eleveld, host Rachel Maddow expressed her frustration over the Log Cabin Republicans decision to give gay rights awards to two people who voted no on repealing DADT - Congressman Pete Sessions and Sen. John Cornyn - neither of whom showed up in person to collect those awards.