The World's Most Famous Kiss

2022-08-10 22:37:28 Written by Bizarre Truth

We all have seen this picture at least once in our life and most of us thought “a soldier kissing his wife after the end of war” but very few know the real story and that is, the two participants in the world’s most famous kiss didn’t even know each other, nor was their photograph staged.

It was taken hours before President Truman officially announced America’s victory in the Pacific War. Mendonsa was on leave and had been on a date with another woman when he heard the war was over. His date, Rita Petrie, is seen in the background of the photo. She said she didn’t mind that he kissed another woman amid the celebration. In fact, she became his wife of seven decades.

 

That sailor was George Mendonsa and the nurse was Greta Zimmer Friedman. Friedman was not prepared for the kiss. In later years, she admitted that she didn’t even see him coming.

 

Friedman was working in a dental office at nearby Lexington Avenue, and though the war hadn’t officially ended, the rumors around NYC were swirling that Imperial Japan was set to surrender. She went over to Time Square to read the latest news, and sure enough, the electronic tickers all read “V-J DAY, V-J DAY.” That’s when Mendonsa grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her in.

 

Mendonsa long maintained that he was the sailor in the photo, called V-J Day in Times Square, but other sailors also claimed to be pictured. Facial recognition technology ultimately confirmed the pair’s identities.
 

Source:►     Bizarre Truth

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