neat historical find

Hey, that's pretty cool. Everybody knows the photo. Now we have learned the identity of the man involved in this most famous of smooches.

After 60 Years, Sailor Embracing Nurse In Photo Identified
Sailor Identified As George Mendonsa, Of Newport
UPDATED: 9:52 am EDT August 4, 2005

NEWPORT, R.I. -- It's a photograph that really illustrates the adage "a picture worth a thousand words." But there is some question about just who is the soldier pictured on a New York City street, kissing a woman to celebrate the victory over Japan in the end of World War II. The photograph, which shows a solider and a nurse embracing in Times Square, was taken Aug. 14, 1945.

For decades, there has been a lot of debate over who the sailor is in the photograph. Now, 60 years later, the Naval War College is unveiling what it calls scientific proof of the sailor's identity, to celebrate the anniversary of the image.

The sailor has been identified as George Mendonsa, of Newport. The college worked with Mitsubishi Research Labs in Cambridge and produced a 3-D model of Mendonsa, de-aged some 60 years.

"I believe at that point I had a soft spot for nurses," said Mendonsa. "And I always remember the nurses in the Pacific taking care of the wounded. And I honestly believe that if that girl didn't have a nurse's uniform on that I never would've grabbed her." The results of the VJ Day photo research is posted on the Naval War College Web site.

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