Monday, July 30, 2007

A kiss is just a kiss -- or is it?

 
Its been a 62-year "whodunit" full of mystery and intrigue.
 
Who really are the kissers in the iconic image, "The Kiss" taken by Life photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt in Times Square Aug. 14, 1945, on the day of Victory over Japan? Over the years, many people have come forward claiming to be either the nurse or the sailor. By most reports, they were strangers who go caught up in a celebratory moment of VJ-day. Eisenstaedt was there to capture that moment and immortalize it.
 
More than 10 men have claimed to be the sailor and one has now turned to science -- forensics and polygraph tests -- to prove he is the man in the famous photo.
 
Before his death, Alfred Eisenstaedt talked about the image and the scene that day, but didn't know either subject's identity. A number of women also have claimed to be the nurse pictured in the photo. NPR interviewed one woman during the unveiling of a life-sized statue in Times Square, based on a famous Life magazine photo:
 
 
For your own moment in history, you can plan to take part in the Times Square Kiss-In that's scheduled for Aug. 14th, 2007, to commemorate the photo. 
 
Regardless of who smooched whom that fateful day in Times Square, THIS kiss and THIS image came to embody the mood and celebration that WWII had endedIt remains the single-most reproduced image in Life magazine's collection.
 
Maybe a kiss is more than just a kiss after all.
 
So, What do you think? Has the sailor finally been found? Will we ever know the identity of both kissers? Is it important to know?  
 
~ Dave  

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