Elisa Rae Shupe’s life was a journey of emotional pain, soul-searching and inspiration from the military women who transitioned before her, she wrote in a 2015 New York Times essay.
It began with childhood sexual abuse as a young boy named James, she said. She joined the U.S. Army. Later, she started identifying as a transgender woman and won a historic court case for trans rights.
She suffered through mental health crises and briefly embraced the anti-transgender movement—a decision she later regretted. This journey ultimately led to the top of a five-story parking garage in Syracuse…