On Tuesday, the Department of Veterans Affairs stated that it will not ban the iconic V-J Day kiss photo taken in 1945 from its facilities. This came after reports circulated that the VA issued a memo ordering the removal of the photograph from all its department health care facilities.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough shared the photo on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “Let me be clear: This image is not banned from VA facilities - and we will keep it in VA facilities.”
Let me be clear: This image is not banned from VA facilities - and we will keep it in VA facilities. pic.twitter.com/dYSikLxHAJ
— Secretary Denis McDonough (@SecVetAffairs) March 5, 2024
McDonough’s post did not address whether or not the memo ordering the image to be removed from VA health facilities was real.
Prior to McDonough’s post, the account End Wokeness shared an image of a memo that appeared to be signed by RimaAnn Nelson, the assistant under secretary for health and operations for the VA, that stated that the image should be removed from facilities.
“The placement of this photograph in Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities was initially intended to celebrate and commemorate the end of World War II and the triumphant return of American soldiers,” the memo posted by End Wokeness said.
“However, perspectives on historical events and their representations evolve. Recent discussions have highlighted concerns about the non-consensual nature of the kiss, prompting debates on consent and the appropriateness of celebrating such images in today’s environment, especially within institutions, such as VHA facilities, which are committed to upholding standards of creating a safe and respectful environment,” it continued.
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“Your cooperation in this matter is vital. Please ensure that these photographs are promptly removed and facilities explore suitable replacements that honor our history and veterans in a manner consistent with our values,” it concluded.
Military Times reported that the memo was real:
Officials said the memo should not have been sent out and was formally rescinded on Tuesday. They did not provide details of whether senior leaders were consulted on the matter ahead of Nelson’s memo.
For many years, the identities of the man and the woman in the photo were unknown, But, In 2012, CBS News reunited the man and the woman in the photo.
It was the moment. You come back from the Pacific, and finally, the war ends," George Mendonsa, the sailor in the photograph, told the outlet.
"I did not see him approaching, and before I know it, I was in this vice grip!" Greta Zimmer Friedman, the nurse in the photo, said.
Friedman died in 2016. Her son, Joshua Friedman, told reporters that his mother did not see the kiss as “an unwanted sexual advance” and his mother said so in an interview years prior (via AZCentral):
In 2016, after her death at 92, her son, Joshua Friedman, told The New York Times that, while his mother understood the contention that it was an unwanted sexual advance, she did not view it that way.
In the 2005 interview, Zimmer said, "It was just somebody really celebrating. But it wasn't a romantic event. It was just an event of 'thank God the war is over' kind of thing."
"It wasn't that much of a kiss, it was more of a jubilant act that he didn't have to go back," she said. "And the reason he grabbed someone dressed like a nurse was that he just felt very grateful to nurses who took care of the wounded."
Three months earlier, Mendonsa had been at the helm of the USS The Sullivans during the Battle of Okinawa and dragged survivors and the dead from the water. Nurses helped save many lives.
In an interview for the same project, Mendonsa said he’d grabbed Zimmer because he thought she was a war nurse. “It was all done in good clean honest fun,” he said.
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