An iconic World War Two photograph will not be banned from agency buildings, despite a memo suggesting it would.
The famed 1945 Times Square kissing photo features a sailor kissing a woman in a nurse’s uniform in the centre of Manhattan.
The photo, taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt, became symbolic of the joy that Americans felt when the war was finally over.
However, a copy of a memo that banned the supposedly politically incorrect photo leaked online.
A statue of the famous kiss
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RimaAnn Nelson, the agency’s assistant under secretary for health for operations, wrote in a memo to staffers around the country last month the snap "could be construed as a tacit endorsement of the inappropriate behaviour it depicts."
"Employees have expressed discomfort with the display of this photograph" and removing it from the VA’s facilities "reflects our dedication to creating a respectful and safe workplace, and is in keeping with our broader efforts to promote a culture of inclusivity and awareness."
The photo had become controversial in recent years, because the woman in the photograph, a dental assistant named Greta Zimmer Friedman, had never met the sailor, George Mendonsa, before she suddenly found herself being kissed by him.
The memo suggested staffers find "alternative photographs that capture the spirit of victory and peace without compromising the VAs commitment to a safe and respectful environment."
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The couple's picture became iconic to celebrate the end of the Second World War
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However, Veteran Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough posted on social media: "Let me be clear: This image is not banned from VA facilities — and we will keep it in VA facilities."
Mendonsa’s daughter Sharon Molleur, 67 told New York Post: "He wasn’t just kissing her, there were thousands of sailors there...They were just coming off those trains and everybody was partying.
"All the sailors were kissing [women], everybody was loaded, jumping up in the air. They were having a wonderful time. Those women didn’t care about that…they were jumping in their arms...it was totally consensual.
Mendonsa died in 2019, three years after Friedman and nearly 25 years after Eisenstaedt. Molleur added that she believes her father kissed several women that day, noting that her mother was even in the photo and that she thinks “he kissed her first."
In 2005, Friedman said: "The guy just came over and kissed or grabbed. It was just somebody really celebrating. But it wasn’t a romantic event."
Congressman Vern Buchanan said it was "good to hear" that the ban had been reversed, "but disturbing that someone at the VA issued this in the first place."
