Her partner, Danielle Pinango, 24, who recently left active duty, stood beside her, holding their 3-month-old son, Noah. Four dozen - some active-duty, some retired - wore their uniforms.Īmong those in uniform was Navy Petty Officer Erica Tello, 29, who has deployed as a firefighter aboard the carriers Nimitz and Carl Vinson.
Most of the military personnel wore T-shirts designating their branch of service. Some in the crowd waved tiny flags others shouted, “Thank you for your service!” Some saluted. All branches of the military were represented. SAN DIEGO - Led by a Marine sergeant wearing her dress blue uniform and bearing the American flag aloft, several hundred members of the military marched in the city’s LGBT Pride parade Saturday, marking the first time the Department of Defense has permitted personnel to wear their uniforms in a gay festival parade.Ī crowd estimated at 200,000 whistled, waved, cheered and applauded as the service members walked the parade route through the city’s largely gay neighborhood of Hillcrest, ending at the western extension of Balboa Park.
