# George Mendonsa, The Kissing Sailor...... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784 "2019-02-18T19:44:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/1 "2019-02-18T19:44:05Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/2 "2019-02-18T20:13:02Z")
I believe the nurse later made it clear she wasn’t happy about the kiss, but a quick google isn’t turning up a reference. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/3 "2019-02-18T20:16:45Z")
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. I look forward to their extinction. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/4 "2019-02-18T21:01:30Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > I believe the nurse later made it clear she wasn’t happy about the kiss, but a quick google isn’t turning up a reference. Isn’t it still not completely certain who the nurse was? Several people have said it was them but last I read it wasn’t confirmed. Oh and yes the interview I read she did state she wasn’t impressed to put it mildly. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/5 "2019-02-18T21:08:01Z")
Too late to edit, the person I read said she was actually a dental assistant, not a nurse. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/6 "2019-02-18T21:09:28Z")
> [@Atomic\_Alex](#): > > Too late to edit, the person I read said she was actually a dental assistant, not a nurse. Correct. She is in a nurse’s uniform though so that’s why everyone thought that. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/7 "2019-02-19T12:33:31Z")
Too bad there’s no iconic picture of her kneeing him in the groin. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/8 "2019-02-19T15:08:29Z")
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](https://www.militarytimes.com/2013/03/21/famous-kissers-weigh-in-on-photo-controversy/). ---
**Author:** ![Turpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Turpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turpentine)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/9 "2019-02-19T21:00:27Z")
Some people clearly think it’s assault: > **['#Metoo' painted onto 'Unconditional Surrender' statue in Sarasota](https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/local/sarasota/2019/02/19/metoo-painted-onto-unconditional-surrender-statue-in-sarasota/5916011007/)** > > Artwork depicts sailor kissing woman at end of World War II 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. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/10 "2019-02-19T22:48:21Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Correct. She is in a nurse’s uniform though so that’s why everyone thought that. 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? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/11 "2019-02-19T23:50:50Z")
[Greta Zimmer Friedman](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/woman-iconic-v-j-photo-died-age-92-heres-her-story-180960435/). > [@](#): > > In the years since, the moment has been reinterpreted based off of Friedman’s account and a closer examination of the photograph, which appears more forceful than affectionate. Some have called it documentation of a sexual assault, and while Friedman reportedly did not view it that way, she understood that reading of the moment, Eli Rosenberg reports for the New York Times. > > “It wasn’t my choice to be kissed,” Friedman told Redmond. “The guy just came over and grabbed!” IOW, it was an assault but she chose not to use that word. She used a periphrasis that means essentially the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/12 "2019-02-20T04:34:18Z")
Eventually, all history will be revised. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/13 "2019-02-20T04:46:41Z")
I don’t think we need to rake the guy over the coals. He’s just a product of his time. But anybody claiming this guy needs to be “remembered” or memorialized, needs to have their head examined. Definitely don’t need a a statue of this guy. Jeez! ---
**Author:** ![Shagunathor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Shagunathor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagunathor)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/14 "2019-02-20T05:21:15Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I don’t think we need to rake the guy over the coals. He’s just a product of his time. > > But anybody claiming this guy needs to be “remembered” or memorialized, needs to have their head examined. > > Definitely don’t need a a statue of this guy. Jeez! We have statues of this guy. > **[Embracing Peace Statue, San Diego, California](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/20274)** > > Giant version of the famous WWII photo of a sailor kissing a nurse. The original fiberglass statue arrived in 2007, was dismantled on May 30, 2012, and replaced by an identical statue of painted bronze in February 2013. Originally named... ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/15 "2019-02-20T06:23:37Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Eventually, all history will be revised. Yes, I imagine that one day we’ll be come to understand that the Rape of Nanking was merely an awkward moment between Japan and China. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/16 "2019-02-20T07:21:36Z")
> [@Shagunathor](#): > > We have statues of this guy. > > [Embracing Peace Statue, San Diego, California](https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/20274) Yes sir. That’s why I said that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pithily\_Effusive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pithily_effusive/32/252_2.png) [@Pithily\_Effusive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithily_Effusive)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/17 "2019-02-20T08:01:14Z")
[Statue vandalized](https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/famous-wwii-kissing-statue-vandalized-metoo-graffiti-hours-veteran-passes-away-160435608.html) hours after sailor passed away. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2019, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/george-mendonsa-the-kissing-sailor/829784/18 "2019-02-20T12:41:30Z")
A few months ago I heard the song [“You Can’t Say No To A Soldier”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrnApg4fodg). Classy!