Dakotah Whitcomb of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, added something to her Christmas list that may not have been on many lists this year: a gay pride flag. The 20-year-old came out as bisexual to her parents, who both served in the military, earlier this year. When she opened her present on Christmas morning, she was surprised to find not only the rainbow flag, but a touching note from her father.
The note reads:
“Merry Christmas Dakotah,
When I saw that a gay pride flag was on your list, at first I thought it was an odd request.
But after thinking about it, I think I know why.
I reckon that you feel that everyone else in the family, except grandma, has a flag that represents something we were/are a part of. I have the Marine Corps, Grandpa and Mom have the Navy, and Darr has the Army. So it makes sense that you would want a flag to represent something you are a part of.
I present you with this flag, to display how you would like. In the spring, when I hang the flags up, I would be proud to hang yours up.
Love you,
Dad”
The note is amazing not only because her father, who served in the Marines for 20 years, accepts her sexuality, but also because he understands the reason why she would want such a flag. He wanted to make sure that she feels welcome and accepted not only within her own family, but within the gay community as well.
The letter meant even more to her, Dakotah says, because she suffers from two chronic pain disorders and is unable to serve in the military like the rest of her family. Still, she feels like she also belongs to something larger.
Dakotah told The Huffington Post how she came out to her father in January “completely by accident.” She was eating at a restaurant with her father, Ron, and her brother, Darr, when their female server “began hitting on her.”
“My dad was like, ‘Yeah she likes you,’” she told HuffPost.
Darr (who already knew she was bisexual) then said, “Well, it’s not like Dakotah minds.”
Dakotah says her dad looked at her, and she said, “‘Yeah, I like girls too.’ [Then] he smiled really big and said, ‘That’s so cool!’”
Her family was already so supportive, and this Christmas present just showed Dakotah how much she is loved and accepted.
“I was really happy and shocked,” she told HuffPost. “When I read the letter and saw the flag, I cried. It wasn’t just that he got me the flag, but that he was willing to hang it up in front of our house with the rest of our flags.”
She posted photos of the gift and the note on Twitter on Christmas Day, and it quickly went viral, with over 61K retweets and 245K likes so far.
This is what true love and support looks like.
h/t: The Huffington Post