An historic photograph of an American sailor kissing a woman in Times Square on VJ Day narrowly escaped a ban by the US government’s veterans affairs department for breaching its sexual harassment policy.
Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photograph, which has become one of the most famous images of the 20th century, shows US sailor George Mendonsa kissing Greta Friedman as New York City celebrated the end of the Second World War on Victory over Japan Day.
But the US veterans secretary was forced to intervene on Tuesday after a more junior official attempted to ban it from the building.
RimaAnn Nelson, the department’s assistant secretary for health for operations, said in a leaked memo on Tuesday that the image would no longer be displayed in an attempt to provide a “safe, respectful, and trauma-informed environment”.
She said the image “depicts a non-consensual act” which is “inconsistent with the VA’s no-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and assault”.
Forced intervention
The memo sparked backlash online, forcing the intervention of Denis McDonough, the veterans secretary, who said he had not been consulted on the plans.
“Let me be clear: this image is not banned from VA facilities – and we will keep it in VA facilities.”
Both Mr Mendonsa and Ms Friedman have publicly discussed the kiss, which they say was not consensual but an expression of joy at the end of the war.
“It wasn’t a romantic event. It was just an event of ‘thank God the war is over’ kind of thing,” she said in 2005.
She later added: “It wasn’t my choice to be kissed. The guy just came over and kissed or grabbed.”
Mr Mendonsa, who died in 2019, said he had “had a few drinks” on the day and had just returned from the war in the Pacific.
“When I saw the nurse, I grabbed her and I kissed her,” he told CBS News in 2012. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press spokesman, said: “The VA is not going to be banning this photo.
“I can definitely say that the memo was not sanctioned, and so it’s not something that we were even aware of.”
