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Iconic Times Square war kiss photo to remain on display after consent debate

U.S. Veterans Affairs memo saying photo 91Ƶdepicts a non-consensual act91Ƶ sparks political firestorm
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FILE - People speak next to a famous photograph taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt of a sailor kissing a nurse in New York91Ƶs Times Square on V-J Day at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow on April 14, 2015. Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough has reversed a department memo shared by a VA undersecretary Tuesday, March 5, 2024, that aimed to ban VA displays of the iconic photograph because it 91Ƶdepicts a non-consensual act91Ƶ and was inconsistent with the department91Ƶs sexual harassment policy. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

The U.S. Veterans Affairs secretary has reversed a department memo that aimed to ban VA displays of the iconic 91ƵV-J Day in Times Square91Ƶ photograph of a Navy sailor kissing a woman he did not know on the streets of New York at the end of World War II.

Secretary acted hours after a copy of a memo from a VA assistant undersecretary requesting the photo91Ƶs removal from all VA health facilities was shared on social media. The memo had said the photo 91Ƶdepicts a non-consensual act91Ƶ and is inconsistent with the department91Ƶs sexual harassment policy.

McDonough on Tuesday tweeted out a copy of the image, which appeared in Life magazine, adding, 91ƵLet me be clear: This image is not banned from VA facilities 91Ƶ and we will keep it in VA facilities.91Ƶ

Two people familiar with the memo confirmed that it was authentic and said McDonough had never approved it and rescinded it once informed that it had been sent out. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

91ƵThe VA is not going to be banning this photo,91Ƶ White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. 91ƵI can definitely say that the memo was not sanctioned, and so it91Ƶs not something that we were even aware of.91Ƶ

Copies of the memo racked up millions of views on social media, quickly becoming a political lightning rod.

The photo was taken on Aug. 14, 1945, known as V-J Day, the day Japan surrendered to the United States, as people spilled into the New York City streets from restaurants, bars and movie theaters, celebrating the news. George Mendonsa spotted Greta Friedman, spun her around and planted a kiss. The two had never met.

The photo, by Alfred Eisenstaedt, is called 91ƵV-J Day in Times Square91Ƶ but is known to most people simply as 91ƵThe Kiss.91Ƶ

Friedman told the Library of Congress in 2005 that 91Ƶit wasn91Ƶt a romantic event. It was just an event of thank God the war is over kind of thing.91Ƶ She added in an oral history of the photo: 91ƵIt wasn91Ƶt my choice to be kissed. The guy just came over and kissed or grabbed.91Ƶ

in 2016 at age 92. in 2019 at age 95.

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