V-J Day Kiss in Times Square
Posted on October 20, 2011 by admin in Uncategorized
For all those with cameras, camera cases are essential to prevent any damage being incurred which could prevent the perfect shot being taken at the perfect moment. Imagine Alfred Eisenstaedt’s camera had been damaged on V-J Day in Times Square on 14th August 1945. The iconic photo of an American sailor spontaneously kissing a young nurse would never have been taken.
Taken immediately after seven o’clock, when President Truman announced the end of the war on Japan, the photo captures the jubilation that spread throughout America. The photo was so impromptu that Eisenstaedt did not have the chance to get the names or details of the embracing pair.
The photo has become so iconic that it a bronze life-size sculpture was made of it by John Seward Johnson II in 2005, titled Unconditional Surrender. Though the identity of the pair is disputed, it is widely believed to have been Edith Shain and George Mendonça. Both attended the sixtieth anniversary reenactment at Times Square of the V-J day celebrations but Shain refused to allow Mendonça to kiss her in a similar manner as the image.
