The "70th Anniversary Of 'The Kiss'" Story

Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic V-J Day photograph taken August 15, 1945.

It was an ordinary day.  Looking online as well in our local paper about the events that are taking place to celebrate the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945.  

Mr. Eisenstaedt signing copies of his photograph.

It's been 70 years ago and I was almost a year old at the time, so I don't remember any of what happened.  The one item that I do remember the most is the photo taken by one of my favorite photographers, Alfred Eisenstaedt, in Times Square the day the news broke of the Japanese surrender in World War II.  The photo was titled "The Kiss" and it remains today the most iconic photo taken of WWII.  

The two people featured in the photo.

Funny that Mr. Eisenstaedt also became part of history that day when another photo- grapher took his photo kissing a reporter with his camera slung over his shoulder.  The day was full of excitement and celebration and the images captured that day remind us that even though the photojournalist is meant to be an impartial witness to history, he can also be a part of the history he is witnessing.  The two people in the photo are said to be Edith Shain and Carl Muscarello and ended up posing with Eisenstaedt for another photo years later.  

Photo by O. Henry Hertzler that appeared
in the Lancaster Newspaper of V-J Day.

The photo was published in LIFE magazine two weeks after the celebration and became one of the most celebrated photographs in history.  In the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, O. Henry Hertzler took a photo of the square in Lancaster from the top of the Lancaster Newspaper Building on West King Street.  It too has become a memorable photo of the ending of WWII.  I'm sure there were many memorable photographs taken that day and were re-published yesterday or today in newspaper all over the country.  In 2005 John Seward Johnson II displayed a bronze life-size sculpture at the 60th anniversary of "The Kiss."  His statue was featured in a ceremony that included the famous pair, holding a copy of the famous photograph.  He also sculpted a 25-foot-tall version in plastic and aluminum which has been displayed in several cities.  It was recently moved to Times Square for the 2015 celebration.  War is hell, but at times that which follows can become symbols of the struggle and be forever an icon of the war.  To many, that is what Eisenstaedt's photo is.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

John Seward Johnson II's plastic and aluminum sculpture of "The Kiss."