A sailor’s kiss in Times Square

A stranger's kiss lasts a lifetime
A stranger's kiss lasts a lifetime

The nurse in Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famous photo of a sailor kissing her in Times Square has passed away. Edith Shain was 92.

Eisenstaedt is quoted as saying this about the photograph: “In Times Square on V.J. Day I saw a sailor running along the street grabbing any and every girl in sight. Whether she was a grandmother, stout, thin, old, didn’t make a difference. I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder but none of the pictures that were possible pleased me. Then suddenly, in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse. If she had been dressed in a dark dress I would never have taken the picture. If the sailor had worn a white uniform, the same. I took exactly four pictures. It was done within a few seconds…”


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