U . S . Navy / National Archives |
When news broke of the coming surrender of Japan , ending World War II , on August 14 , 1945 , celebrations erupted across the United States . None would become more legendary than the one that took place in Times Square , where in the midst of the jubilation , photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured on film a spontaneous kiss between a U . S . Navy sailor and a nurse , a photo that would appear in LIFE magazine two weeks later .
The picture would go on to become one of the most famous photos in history . And yet , in the chaos of the moment , Eisenstaedt never got the names of the sailor and nurse , leaving their identities lost to history . As public interest in the identities of the kissing couple grew , so did the number of claimants to being the “ true ” sailor and nurse .
It was not until authors Lawrence Verria and George Galdorisi , through many years of exhaustive research , were able to finally identify with irrefutable proof
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the names of the sailor and nurse – a story chronicled in their book , The Kissing Sailor .
George Mendonsa ’ s personal story is as compelling as the story behind “ the kiss .”
Mendonsa served throughout the Pacific as part of “ Bull ” Halsey ’ s Fast Carrier Task Force . The momentary chance meeting between the sailor and the nurse took place when George , on leave from the Navy and on a date with Rita Petry – his future wife – joined the celebrations in Times Square , coming upon a
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young nurse assistant - Greta Friedman .
Nearly seven decades later , both George and Greta are still alive , and George recently offered to share his account of the war and that famous kiss with the American Veterans Center & World War II Veterans Committee .
The following is his story …
I still remember exactly where I was the moment I heard the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor .
WHILE ALFRED EISENSTAEDT ’ S VJ DAY IN TIMES SQUARE PHOTO HAS BECOME THE MOST FAMOUS SHOT OF THE IMMORTAL KISS , THE MOMENT WAS ALSO CAPTURED FROM ANOTHER ANGLE BY U . S . NAVY LT . VICTOR JORGENSEN IN A PHOTO TITLED KISSING THE WAR GOODBYE . DECADES LATER , BOTH PHOTOS WERE USED TO FINALLY IDENTIFY THE “ SAILOR ” AND THE “ NURSE .”
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FALL 2015 |
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