Marine's passionate embrace goes viral on Facebook

Sgt Brandon Morgan's 'first kiss' with Dalan Wells

A passionate embrace between a gay US Marine and his partner that was caught on camera in Hawaii has attracted an outpouring of online support.

The picture of Sgt Brandon Morgan's "first kiss" with Dalan Wells on his return from an operational tour has gone viral, attracting more than 4,000 online comments and 18,000 "likes" since it was posted on a Facebook page for gay Marines on Saturday.

"To everyone who has responded in a positive way, my partner and I want to say thank you," wrote Sgt Morgan in response. "Dalan, the giant in the photo, can't believe how many shares and likes we have gotten on this," he wrote.

The photograph comes five months after the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that banned openly gay men and women from serving in the US military expired.

Petty Officers Marissa Gaeta and Citlalic Snell became the first lesbian couple to publicly share their "first kiss" in December.