One of America’s most iconic sailors has died. George Mendonsa was one-half of the famous Times Square V-J Day photograph. He passed away after suffering from a seizure at his assisted living home in Middletown, Rhode Island at the age of 95.
Mendosa was on leave in New York on August 14, 1945, when the war ended and thousands of people poured out into the streets of New York to celebrate. That’s when he became overcome with emotion and kissed a nearby woman in a nurse’s uniform named Greta Zimmer Friedman. Mendosa later said that Friedman reminded him of the nurses who cared for wounded soldiers during the war and chose to kiss her after a few celebratory drinks.
In 2015, he was honored at the Rhode Island State House for his service.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.
