“This was back in 1945.”
Well, I was working in a dental office on Lexington Avenue for two brothers, JD and JL Burke, and all morning long people would come in and say there seems to be rumors that the war is ending. And since I wasn’t very far from Times Square, I could just walk over there and see for myself. And so after my bosses came back at 1:00 from their lunch hour, excuse me, I went straight to Times Square where I saw on the lighted billboard that goes around the building, V-J Day, V-J Day, and that really—that really confirmed what the people have said in the office. And so suddenly I was grabbed by a sailor, and it wasn’t that much of a kiss, it was more of a jubilant act that he didn’t have to go back, I found out later, he was so happy that he did not have to go back to the Pacific where they already had been through the war. And the reason he grabbed someone dressed like a nurse was that he just felt very grateful to nurses who took care of the wounded. And so I had to go back to the office, and I told my bosses what I had seen. And they said, Cancel all the appointments, we’re closing the office. So they left, and I canceled all the appointments and went home.
—Interview with Greta Zimmer Friedman, August 23rd, 2005
SARASOTA—George Mendonsa hasn’t even been buried yet, but a statue depicting the World War II veteran kissing a woman in Times Square to celebrate the end of World War II has been vandalized in Sarasota.
The sculpture called “Unconditional Surrender” was spray-painted with #MeToo graffiti, indicating the movement founded in 2006 to help survivors of sexual violence.
While the statue—which came to Sarasota in November 2009—represents nostalgia and a level of unity and pride, some consider the act a sexual assault by today’s standards.
—“#Metoo” painted onto “Unconditional Surrender” statue in Sarasota
Greta Zimmer Friedman:
Well, we met in Times Square in 1980.Patricia Redmond:
But who invited you to Times Square then?Greta Zimmer Friedman:
LIFE Magazine.Patricia Redmond:
Okay. And?Greta Zimmer Friedman:
And we sort of—I didn’t want to reenact the kiss. First of all, my—well, no, my husband did not come with me, but his wife was there.Patricia Redmond:
Mr. Mendonsa’s wife?Greta Zimmer Friedman:
Yes.Patricia Redmond:
Well, she was there the first time.Greta Zimmer Friedman:
Well, I didn’t know. Well, it wasn’t—it wasn’t my choice to be kissed. The guy just came over and kissed or grabbed.Patricia Redmond:
This was back in 1945.Greta Zimmer Friedman:
Yes.Patricia Redmond:
Okay. So now we’re in 1980, and we do a reenactment of the kiss.Greta Zimmer Friedman:
Yes. I told him I didn’t want to redo that pose.Patricia Redmond:
Well, we have—we have the picture here.Greta Zimmer Friedman:
It’s sort of a—Patricia Redmond:
And it’s kind of the pose, and it says—and the sign, this is Times Square.Greta Zimmer Friedman:
Right.Patricia Redmond:
It says, what does it say on the sign?Greta Zimmer Friedman:
It says, “It had to be you.”Patricia Redmond:
Okay. So that makes it pretty official, doesn’t it?Greta Zimmer Friedman:
I would guess.
—Interview with Greta Zimmer Friedman, August 23rd, 2005
