General Assembly to Honor WWII Times Square “Kissing Sailor”

General Assembly to Honor WWII Times Square “Kissing Sailor”

George Mendonça of Middletown was in New York City’s Times Square where he was celebrating V-J Day on Aug. 14, 1945. A photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt, happened to be standing nearby with his camera when Mendonça grabbed a passing woman and kissed her in the middle of Times Square.

Mendonça, 92, will be honored by the House of Representatives Thursday when he visits the chamber as a guest of Rep. Deborah Ruggiero, (D-Jamestown, Middletown), in whose district he resides.

“I’m so happy that Mr. Mendonça, 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.”

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This year marks the 70th anniversary of the famous photograph. Also present will be Lawrence Verria, author of “The Kissing Sailor,” a book exploring the controversy surrounding the identities of the couple in the picture. Over the years, several people have claimed to be the subject of the photo. After the U.S. Naval War College determined the sailor was Mendonça after a forensic study, he has been determined to be the sailor in the photo.