VJ-DAY, TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK, AUGUST 14, 1945
August 14, 2010 | Source: Monroe Gallery of Photography
The V-J Day picture of the white-clad nurse by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured an epic moment in U.S. history and became an iconic image marking the end of the war after being published in Life magazine.
It is probably the most iconographic image associated with LIFE, photojournalism, and World War II. Eisenstaedt recounts how he got the shot: "I was walking through the crowds on V-J Day, looking for pictures. I noticed a sailor coming my way. He was grabbing every female he could find and kissing them all - young girls and old ladies alike, The sailor came along, grabbed the nurse, and bent down to kiss her. Now if this girl hadn't been a nurse, if she'd been dressed in dark clothes, I wouldn't have had a picture. People tell me that when I'm in heaven, they will remember this picture."
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Life magazine
Alfred Eisenstaedt
VJ-Day
