When Frank Christian got his walking papers from the U.S. Army in 1992, he was a lieutenant colonel at Fort McPherson's Forces Command, working in personnel management to get various guard and reserve units deployed.

Christian was forced into retirement based on the determination of a military review board, and it caught him off guard. He wondered if, just maybe, he wasn't as good as he thought he was.

Then he found out about other officers of the same rank who were let go. Some of them, he said, "were top notch."

"A couple of them were outstanding in everyone's mind," Christian said. "We knew they were the best."

That put Christian on a mission: to find out what really happened.

After digging through military documents, he found one that confirmed he and others were incorrectly evaluated for retirement, he said.

Army officials ordered the retirement board to make sure that minorities and women weren't forcibly retired at higher rates, regardless of their experience level, Christian said.

Christian then filed the suit, which was later granted class action status. A settlement was recently reached that provides each of the 881 claimants, all white males, a payment of between $41,253 to $48,237.

The forced retirements caused some officers to teeter on financial insolvency, while others had emotional issues from being given their walking papers, Christian said.

The settlement came after the court ruled that the Army's retirement evaluation criteria referencing the minority and female officers "was unconstitutional," Christian said.

"The court just said, 'You can't do that, guys,'" Christian said.

Christian, who got a law degree at Georgia State University after leaving the Army and is a member of the Georgia Bar, has been working on this case as the "class representative."

The law firm of Chilivis, Cochran, Larkins and Bever handled the case in court, but it was Christian who lived it and breathed it, going through all the acquired documents and interacting with his fellow lieutenant colonels, some of whom weren't totally satisfied with the end result.

"A small part of the class wanted a public apology from the secretary (of the Army) or the chief of staff," Christian said. He argued, however, that such an apology would never come because of other similar suits pending against the government. Such an apology could be used in another case as an admission of guilt, Christian noted.

The settlement, Christian said, was the only way to make sure all of the claimants were compensated. Originally, the suit sought full back pay and adjusted pensions as compensation, but that would've cost the government more than $300 million. The settlement calls for the pay-out of more than $50 million instead.

The Army stopped using the disputed race and sex criteria in analyzing officers for retirement in 2000, Christian said.

Other than his settlement check and a sense of satisfaction, Christian got his law degree out of his forced retirement. He has only represented one client, but he got a settlement out of that case too, before it even went to court.

The rest of Christian's legal knowledge has gone towards the Army suit. The court-approved settlement means the case is near its end, and so is Christian's law career. He plans to retire as a lawyer next year once the litigation is finalized.

And as far as the Army is concerned, Christian said he still "loves" it.

"I am certain the Army didn't set out to deliberately discriminate or harm us or anyone," Christian said.

So far, just about everyone has gotten their settlement checks except for the 23 claimants who have since died. In most cases, those checks will be sent to their widows, Christian said.

"It's been quite a journey," Christian said, adding that he wasn't sure if he was supposed to receive the document that led to the lawsuit.

"I don't know if it was deliberate," Christian said. "Or if it was an accident or if I had some friend up there (at the Pentagon), a clerk or soldier who said, 'You know, he ought to have this.'"

Christian has also gotten several gifts from claimants who were happy for his assistance in the case. One sent a beautiful drawing of an Eagle.

Another sent a King James Version of the Bible, with the following inscription: "For keeping the faith."