WATCH: Meet The Gay Marine Whose Homecoming Kiss Went Viral
BY Sunnivie Brydum
December 29 2012 3:05 PM ET
On February 22, Marine Sergeant Brandon Morgan was returning from a six-month deployment to Afghanistan by way of a military base in Hawaii. Morgan's boyfriend, Dalan Wells, was at the base to greet his partner as he returned home, along with the spouses and girlfriends receiving their returning soldiers. When Morgan saw Wells, he was so moved that he leapt into his boyfriend's arms, where the two shared a passionate kiss, caught on camera by bystanders. The photo quickly went viral, a visceral, visual reminder of the progress made by repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Just in time for the new year, YouTube filmmakers Gay Family Values sat down with Sgt. Morgan, 25, and Wells, 38 to get the full story on the moment that became an iconic symbol of the march toward equality in our nation's military.
"There was a little bit of hesitation on Dalan's part to even be there," explains Sgt. Morgan. "Because, yes, the repeal had happened, DADT was dead, but for the most part there were military spouses or girlfriends there, all dressed up to receive their men, husbands dressed up to receive their wives back from deployment, but we were the only same-sex couple."
"Well, I'm very shy," said Wells. "Then I started realizing, oh, he can go off to Afghanistan for six months to go to war, and I'm afraid to even show up at a hangar to greet him when he gets off the bus? So then I felt bad and was like, fine, I can do it."
Watch the full interview below.
Sign Up For Email Updates
- Arts & Entertainment Week in Beef: Ben Cohen, Frank Ocean, Hugh Jackman, and More Shirtless Celebs 2 hours 15 min ago
- Sports Griner: Baylor Coach Enforced Closet Policy 2 hours 18 min ago
- Politicians Gay Activists Interrupt Marco Rubio Speech 2:03 PM
- Hate-crimes WATCH: Vigil for Hate Crime Victim Mark Carson 1:01 PM
- Television WATCH: The Cure for Gay Wedding-Related Depression 12:39 PM
- Television WATCH: Did Stefon Marry Seth Meyers or Anderson Cooper? 12:32 PM
- Crime Gay Man Gunned Down in NYC Street, Dies UPDATED: May 18 2013 7:24 PM















