First gay wedding on U.S. military base

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TRENTON, N.J., July 19 (UPI) -- A New Jersey gay couple became the first to get married on a U.S. military base in the wake of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell, officials said.

Tech. Sgt. Erwynn Umali and civilian Will Behrens said "I do" at the chapel at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst June 23, becoming the first gay couple to be married at a U.S. military base, the New York Daily News reported Thursday.

The military ended its "don't ask, don't tell" policy on homosexuality in September, allowing gays and lesbians to openly serve in the army.

"It's a struggle that Will and I have gone through and so many people are going through," said Umali, an active-duty serviceman in the Air Force. "Now I can introduce Will as my partner or my husband instead of my friend or my boyfriend. We don't have to live in fear."

After the wedding, the couple took their children on a vacation to Disneyland.