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.”
Related:
THEN AND NOW: VJ-Day and the death of Osama bin Laden
SO SWEET.
ReplyDeleteThat's Random?
ReplyDeleteI did a Google search for V-J Day, hoping to find the iconic photo above, and the first site I found was yours.
ReplyDeleteYou have a wonderful blog here, which (as a huge fan of Gordon Parks, Dorthea Lange, et al) I'll explore later, when I can tear myself away from the TV news.
Today feels a lot like the end of a war, after the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of American forces yesterday.
Thank you for posting the picture.
Cathey in Austin