WASHINGTON (AP) – The Secretary of Veterans Affairs will display the iconic “VJ Day in Times Square” photo of a Navy sailor kissing a strange woman on a New York street at the end of World War II at the Veterans Administration. The ministry’s memorandum aimed at banning the ban was withdrawn. Second World War.
secretary dennis mcdonough The action came hours after a copy of a memo from the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs asking for the removal of photos from all VA medical facilities was shared on social media. The memo said the photo “depicts non-consensual conduct” and is against the department’s sexual harassment policy.
McDonough tweeted a copy of the image on Tuesday. life The magazine added, “To be clear, this image is not prohibited from entering the VA facility. We will keep it within the VA facility.”
Two people familiar with the memo confirmed its authenticity and said McDonough never approved the memo and retracted it once he was informed it had been sent. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that “the Department of Veterans Affairs has no intention of banning this photo.” “I can assure you that this memo was not authorized. So that’s not even something we were aware of.”
Copies of the memo racked up millions of views on social media and quickly became a political lightning rod.
This photo was taken on August 14, 1945, known as VJ Day, the day Japan surrendered to the United States, as people poured out of restaurants, bars, and movie theaters onto the streets of New York City to celebrate the news. George Mendonça spotted Greta Friedman, spun her around and kissed her. The two had never met.
This photo by Alfred Eisenstedt is called “VJ Day in Times Square,” but to most people it’s simply known as “The Kiss.”
Friedman told the Library of Congress in 2005, “It wasn’t a romantic event. It was just an event of thanking God that the war was over.” It wasn’t my choice to be kissed. He just came over and kissed me and grabbed me.”
Friedman dies 92 years old in 2016. Mendonça dies 95 years old in 2019.
