"Kissing Sailor," now 92, to be Honored by RI Lawmakers

A 92-year-old Middletown man whose kiss has became an iconic image to represent America’s collective relief when Japan surrendered to end World War II is being honored by Rhode Island lawmakers.

Alfred Eisenstaedt’s 1945 photograph, “Kissing Sailor,” appeared in LIFE magazine and captured a brief moment of euphoria felt by millions who had endured years of sacrifice and fighting overseas upon news that the war was over.

Until recently, the identity of the sailor and the young woman remained a mystery and various people had come forward to claim he or she was the sailor or nurse in the photo. A definitive book published in 2012, however, cracked the case and names George Mendonsa of Middletown as the kisser. And the nurse? She was actually a dental assistant. Her name is Greta Zimmer Friedman and she lives in Frederick, Md.

Mendonsa was 22 at the time of the photograph and he never actually saw it until 1980, when LIFE reprinted it and claimed to have tracked down the nurse in the fabled photograph.

LIFE happened to be wrong about the nurse (she was one of several imposters), and Mendonsa also saw his current wife in the frame, who can be seen in the background. It turns out that the couple was on a first date at an afternoon showing of “A Bell for Adano” at Radio City Music Hall when people starting banging on the doors, the lights came on and they announced the war was over.

As drinks poured out of every tap in the city, Mendonsa celebrated and as the couple walked, he grabbed the young dental assistant who happened to be passing by, kissed her, and that was that.

That date led to a long marriage and his wife, Rita, said she never thought much about the photo. It was a happy day for all and she was “grinning like an idiot.”

Zimmer recalled being grabbed by a strong man and suddenly being kissed by a man who had clearly been drinking. She never told anyone about the kiss. That is until LIFE came out with their announcement they had found the nurse.

She, like Mendonsa, were concerned that the wrong people were taking credit for being in the photo.

Efforts to positively identify the sailor and nurse heightened in the late 1980s. A group of researchers and professors conducted forensic analysis of the photograph to conclude once and for all that it was Mendonsa in the photo. “The Kissing Sailor: The Mystery Behind the Photo that Ended World War II,” co-authored by North Kingstown High School teacher Lawrence Verria, is considered a definitive collection of all the research along with a detailed account of the remarkable story.

On Thursday, the Rhode Island House of Representatives will honor Mendonsa as he visits the chamber during its regular session.

He will be a guest of Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown), who said she is “so happy that Mr. Mendonsa, the subject of a photo that has become such an important part of American history, will be here with us as the House of Representatives pays tribute to him,” said Representative Ruggiero. “Not only did that photo mean so much to so many, we must not forget that he was one of thousands of service men and women who sacrificed so much in the second World War.”

Verria will also be in attendance.