The ecstatic sailor shown kissing a woman in Times Square celebrating the end of World War II has died. George Mendonsa was 95.
Mendonsa's daughter, Sharon Molleur, told The Providence Journal Mendonsa fell and had a seizure on Sunday at the assisted living facility in Middletown, Rhode Island, where he lived with his wife of 70 years.
Mendonsa was shown kissing Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant in a nurse's uniform, on Aug. 14, 1945. Known as V-J Day, it was the day Japan surrendered to the United States.
The photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt became one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century.
It was years before Mendonsa and Friedman were confirmed to be the couple.
Friedman died in 2016 at the age of 92.
Mendonsa died two days before his 96th birthday. [Reply]
Originally Posted by oldman:
She wasn't in any branch of the service. Nurses, dental assistants, and other medical personnel wore white uniforms well into the 1980s.
good call... looked her up and she was indeed not a nurse for one of the branches of service.
Originally Posted by :
As for the allegations of sexual assault, she may have been kissing him first. I've been told there was a lot of partying going on after almost 4 years of war for the US. Just sayin'.
The same wikipedia article I looked up about her uniform also had this to say on the matter...
"While V-J Day in Times Square went on to become an iconic photo that was generally viewed as a celebratory and romantic photograph, Friedman had mixed feelings about it.[6] "It wasn’t my choice to be kissed," Friedman stated in a 2005 interview with the Library of Congress.[7] "The guy just came over and grabbed!" she said, adding, "That man was very strong. I wasn’t kissing him. He was kissing me."[8] "I did not see him approaching, and before I know it I was in this tight grip," Friedman told CBS News in 2012.[9]" [Reply]
Originally Posted by MephistophelesJanx:
good call... looked her up and she was indeed not a nurse for one of the branches of service.
The same wikipedia article I looked up about her uniform also had this to say on the matter...
"While V-J Day in Times Square went on to become an iconic photo that was generally viewed as a celebratory and romantic photograph, Friedman had mixed feelings about it.[6] "It wasn’t my choice to be kissed," Friedman stated in a 2005 interview with the Library of Congress.[7] "The guy just came over and grabbed!" she said, adding, "That man was very strong. I wasn’t kissing him. He was kissing me."[8] "I did not see him approaching, and before I know it I was in this tight grip," Friedman told CBS News in 2012.[9]"
It's unfortunate that an iconic image of America is now tainted by that background. It makes me wonder when the back story was first revealed, and at what point men began cringing about it versus when women did. For example, did men who heard the story in 1950 think it was bad? Women? How about 1980? 2000?
I've seen the image my entire life. I don't remember when I heard that she wasn't a willing party, but to be honest I probably didn't think it was a problem when I first heard. I don't remember. But I suspect that opinions have changed dramatically in my lifetime.
It makes think of this comedy assault scene from an early Bill Murray movie. It was funny in 1980 or so.
I had heard that the woman in the picture was identified some years ago and they began the search for the guy. I guess there was more than one who claimed to have been the guy in that picture...so they asked the woman what the sailor said just before kissing her so they could weed out the impostors.
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
It's unfortunate that an iconic image of America is now tainted by that background. It makes me wonder when the back story was first revealed, and at what point men began cringing about it versus when women did. For example, did men who heard the story in 1950 think it was bad? Women? How about 1980? 2000?
I've seen the image my entire life. I don't remember when I heard that she wasn't a willing party, but to be honest I probably didn't think it was a problem when I first heard. I don't remember. But I suspect that opinions have changed dramatically in my lifetime.
It makes think of this comedy assault scene from an early Bill Murray movie. It was funny in 1980 or so.
So many movies have inappropriate stuff in them since the new era has begun.
So people take issue with glorifying a picture of a woman who looks very uncomfortable getting forcibly kissed (a story she has corroborated) and that's the product of "#metoo losers"? Sometimes you guys sound awfully supportive of sexual assault. [Reply]
Originally Posted by kysirsoze:
So people take issue with glorifying a picture of a woman who looks very uncomfortable getting forcibly kissed (a story she has corroborated) and that's the product of "#metoo losers"? Sometimes you guys sound awfully supportive of sexual assault.
She doesn't look uncomfortable to me. She looks fully into it. If I hadn't read that she wasn't, I'd never know. [Reply]
