First same-sex active-duty couple marries at West Point

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP, KTVU) - Two Army captains who met at West Point returned there to be married, in what is believed to be the first same-sex marriage of active-duty personnel at the storied New York military academy.

Captains Daniel Hall, 30, and Vincent Franchino, 26 were married at West Point's Cadet Chapel on Jan. 13.

Both are Apache helicopter pilots and stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. 

The New York Times reports the men met at the school in August 2009, when Franchino was a freshman and Hall was a senior.

Their first date didn't come until February 2012, some months after the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was repealed in September 2011.

That policy, in place since 1993, barred any gay person from disclosing their sexual orientation or talking about any same-sex relationship.

"It's really frustrating when two people have feelings for each other but are not allowed to act on them," Hall said. "We were serving under a policy that was telling all of us - perfectly capable soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines - to lie about ourselves."

The men wore their uniforms during the ceremony, and left the chapel under an arch made up of sabers held aloft by several of their guests.

They also used Hall's officer saber, a graduation gift from his grandparents, to cut the cake.

Their story has reached people around the globe.

On social media, the congratulations and well wishes have been pouring in with comments including one from Instagram user zeke_thomas who wrote, "Congratulations! What a moment for you and the country!"

Vincent Franchino-Hall tells KTVU in sharing his and Daniel's story, "...we really hope this inspires others to pursue their true self!"