TORONTO – A San Diego couple made U.S. Navy history Monday after becoming the first gay male couple to be chosen for the ceremonial homecoming kiss.
Petty Officer Thomas Sawicki and Shawn Brier were selected for the kiss to celebrate the homecoming of USS San Francisco to its home port at Naval Base Point Loma.
“Everyone was cheering for me when they announced it over email,” Sawicki told NBC News. “Everyone was very excited, very supportive, very happy.”
It’s Navy tradition to celebrate a ship’s homecoming from deployment with a crew member sharing a ‘first kiss’ with a loved one dockside.
The selection is done through a raffle lottery.
“I was very nervous,” Brier said. “I don’t want to screw it up and fall into the water or something.”
In 2011, Petty Officer Marissa Gaeta and Petty Officer Citlalic Snell were the first female couple to share the ‘first kiss’ upon the return of USS Oak Hill to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach.
Their kiss came just months after the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
The act prohibited gays from disclosing their sexual orientation while serving in the armed forces.
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