George Mendonsa just passed away. He was confirmed as the sailor in the iconic photo in Times Square abruptly grabbing a strange woman (actually a nurse), bending her over and planting a big fat kiss during celebrations regarding the Japanese surrender.
Just over a decade later an 8 year old lad went on a spree kissing unsuspecting female classmates until the authorities became aware of his behaviour. Fortunately he learned his lesson.
I’m conflicted about the appropriateness of Georges behavior.
It was an assault, no question. It was also very different times and not all that unusual or frowned upon. Women put up with it and much worse.
Old guys at my pool still think it is funny to make jokes about staying away from their friend over there because he’s handsy. If I was the friend I’d be pretty pissed off at being accused of sexual assault but they usually laugh and mime a grope. Different guys, same joke at least once a week.
On the network news show I saw last night, they talked about his death and pointed out that his girlfriend/fiancee is in the background of the photo. They later married and she survives him. BTW, the woman identified as the nurse didn’t view it as an assault.
They did identify the woman being kissed. While she ultimately did not claim she viewed it as assault, she did say that she was grabbed without warning and did not want to be kissed. For many people, that is considered assault.
Was there an explanation as to why she was wearing a nurse’s uniform? And was a female dental assistant of that era’s (probably a tautology there) uniform noticeably distinct?
