The story of the iconic photograph “The Times Square Kiss,” which they want to ban (6 photos)

On August 14, 1945, 23-year-old sailor George Mendonsa was on a date with 20-year-old Rita Petrie. They joined a Manhattan crowd of thousands celebrating the victory over Japan.





Noticing 21-year-old Greta Zimmer in a nurse's uniform, the man remembered how these girls pulled his comrades out of the water after two Japanese kamikaze pilots attacked the USS Bunker Hill.

The sailor left his beloved and rushed to Zimmer. He took the stranger into his arms and kissed her. The couple was captured by Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstadt. This photo became a symbol of the end of World War II for Americans.



Rita forgave George for this prank, and the couple soon got married.

"They just got back. All the sailors were kissing women, everyone was drunk. They were having a great time," said Sharon Moller, 67, daughter of Mendonsa and Petrie. "My dad must have kissed a lot of them. My mom was in the picture too. I think , he kissed her first."





The other day, the United States almost banned putting the legendary photograph on public display. Department of Veterans Affairs officials say the photo depicts a "non-consensual act."

Moller added: "It was completely consensual. Thousands of sailors kissed women that day."

According to the woman, her father became friends with Greta.



George Mendonsa and Greta Zimmer

Mendonça met Petrie at a barbecue at his family's home in Rhode Island, just a few weeks before August 14th.

“She was beautiful,” said the sailor. “I think I fell in love with her at first sight.”

That day, the couple went to watch a movie at Radio City Music Hall.

“They were knocking on the doors from the street,” Mendonça recalled. “They turned on the lights, stopped the film and said: “The war is over, the Japanese have surrendered!”

Together with the rest of the spectators, the lovers headed to a nearby bar.

"I've had quite a bit to drink."

George admitted that he was too drunk to remember the kiss.



Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstadt

But Nurse Zimmer didn’t forget.

“Many people want to know how I reacted,” Greta shared. “It was a happy day. The kiss didn’t bother me at all. It would be a different story if I were engaged.”

Zimmer, a dental assistant from Queens, fled to America from her native Austria in 1939.

After receiving news of the end of the war, she left the clinic in Times Square, not knowing that her parents had died in concentration camps. She stood there in chaos for several minutes before George ran up to her.

"He grabbed me. This man was very strong. I didn't kiss him, but he kissed me."



Unconditional Surrender statue in San Diego

A week later, the photo was posted on page 27 of Life magazine without indicating the names of the characters.

Zimmer recognized herself immediately, but it took Mendonça 35 years. He even sued the publisher for not including his name.

“The seams on my stockings were perfectly even, I always carefully watched this,” the nurse explained. “And this is also my figure and hairstyle. And I carried a small tapestry handbag with me.”

George died in 2019, three years after Rita. Greta passed away last year.