Goodbye, Edith...

Times Square. August 14, 1945.


The photo that symbolized the end of the WWII...We've all seen it. Did you know that the nurse being kissed was Edith Shain? She came down to Times Square on that fateful day to celebrate the end of the war with so many others. A sailor, a stranger to her, grabbed her and kissed her. The photo was snapped. She never got a look at the sailor. She closed her eyes as he kissed her. After the kiss, she just turned and walked away.

Edith was embarrassed by that photo and never told anyone it was her until the late 70's. No one knows who the sailor was.

To me, this photo is just so moving, and full of life. Look at the way he is holding her. Such an embrace!

Edith passed away this past Sunday, but her image is cemented into my mind and the minds of so many others. The nurse and the sailor, kissing like there was no tomorrow, on the day they found out there really was going to be a tomorrow after all...




6 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh! how romantic? this image is so iconic and classic - and to think he was a stranger! she lives on in history!!

xo

http://www.stuffyoulllove.com

24 Corners said...

Facsinating...Edith came from such an amazing generation...sad that there are so few left now from that very special and very important time in our history. xo

Ivy Lane said...

Love it.. saw it on Art.com yesterday..such a nostalgic story.. Happy Weekend!

alexkeller said...

i can't believe she was embarrassed! cheers to another tomorrow!

Re:Design Technologies said...

what a powerful and elating moment that must have been! i love that photo but never knew edith's side of the story. thanks, penelope.

m.fay said...

LOVE! your blog is sweet. happy to find you. please stop by and say hi!

xo
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