Brian Peck

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R.I.P. George Mendonsa, the sailor from that famous post WW2 photo

George Mendonsa, the man who’s believed to be the sailor shown in a famous photo kissing a woman in Times Square to celebrate the end of World War Two, has died. He was 95. The iconic photo was taken on August 14, 1945, which was known as V-J Day, when Japan surrendered to the U.S. As people celebrated in the street, Mendonsa kissed a woman in a nurse’s uniform who he didn’t know, and photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured the image, which was first published in Life magazine.

The women is believed to have been a dental assistant named Greta Zimmer Friedman, who died in 2016 at age 92. Mendonsa said in 2015 that Friedman had reminded him of nurses on a hospital ship that he saw care for wounded soldiers, saying, “I saw what those nurses did that day and now back in Times Square the war ends, a few drinks, so I grabbed the nurse.” Friedman said in a 2005 interview that the kiss wasn’t what it appeared to be, explaining, “The guy just came over and kissed or grabbed. It was just somebody really celebrating. But it wasn’t a romantic event.”

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