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The post isn’t about the west, but I hope no one minds. While
in California earlier this month, I visited the Unconditional Surrender Statue
in San Diego. I knew of the ‘kiss’ but not the story behind it, which is worth
sharing. I hope you think so, too.
I need to note, there are several versions of the story, and
this is the one the Naval Institute (which is also part of the display in San
Diego) shared.
The famous 1945 photo wasn’t staged, nor did the two people
know each other. Matter of fact, the picture didn’t even become famous until
years later, and the two people didn’t even know about the picture until the
late 1970’s.
Greta Zimmer was a dental assistant (at the time they wore
the full ‘nurse garb’) in New York and on August 14, 1945 was at work as usual.
After dental patients coming into the clinic said the war had ended, during her
lunch break, Greta went down to Time’s Square to read the news herself on the lighted
Times news zipper in the windows on
the third story of their building.
That same day, George Mendonsa was looking forward to spending
his last day before being shipped out again with his new girlfriend, Rita. Because
Rita liked how he looked in it, George wore his uniform to take Rita to a
matinee that afternoon. Shortly after it began, the show was interrupted by the
announcement the war had ended.
George and Rita left the movie theatre and hurried to Times
Square, where a multitude of people had gathered, reading the same lighted
message as Greta. Gaiety overtook the entire area, and people rushed into ‘water
holes’ where shot glasses of whiskey were passed out in celebration. George
tossed back more than one glass in his excitement. Jubilant, he rushed back out
into the crowd, and there, amongst the mass, he saw an angel. He remembered a
time when he’d rescued maimed sailors from a burning ship, and how the nurses,
angels in white, took care of them afterwards.
In the heat of the moment, George rushed to Greta and without
asking permission, kissed her.
Greta’s first response was defense (in some photos—several
were taken by other people besides the Life
magazine reporter—her hand is clenched in a fist and rising). Perhaps because she
understood George had no intention of hurting her, she surrendered to the kiss.
Afterwards, without a word, Greta and George parted. George did
offer Rita, who had watched the kiss from the sidelines, an apology for what
had happened, but she had no objections. Greta simply returned to work. Little
did they know that Alfred Eisenstaedt, a Life magazine photographer, had snapped
four photos of them. One which would become his most famous photograph, Life
magazines most reproduced, and one of the most popular photos of the 20’s
century.
Years later, when the photo gained popularity, a search for
the identities of the nurse and the sailor had several people coming forward,
claiming it was them. Neither George nor Greta knew about the photo until
contacted. George and Rita (who had been married several years then) recognized
the photo because of Rita in the background, and Greta recognized herself
because of how straight the seams where in her stockings, she took extra care
in assuring they were always perfectly straight.
One last fun thing for us about the statue in San Diego is
that the walkway leading up to it is engraved with the names of people who
donated money to have it erected. As my sister and I were walking along, I
looked down and said look at that. Our parents were Earl and Mary, and there
were their names. The donor’s names were actually Dr. Earl and Mary Parson. As
you can see, we strategically covered up those parts.Now, wasn't that worth sharing?
