GROTON, Conn., Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A crew member of a U.S. Navy submarine stepped onto dry land in Groton, Conn., after six months at sea, got down on one knee and proposed to his partner.
MM2 2nd class Jerrel Revels of the USS New Mexico surprised Dylan Kirchner with his marriage proposal Monday afternoon, the newspaper The Day of London, Conn., reported.
Revels' proposal came two years after the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," the U.S. military's ban on openly gay service members.
"I never expected this," Kirchner said. "I didn't really care [that] everybody was around. It felt just like the two of us."
Kirchner was among about 200 relatives and friends at Pier 31 of Groton's Naval Submarine Base to greet the vessel, home after its first deployment, the newspaper said.
