Revelers in Times Square will reenact a moment captured on film 65 years ago today, when news of a Japanese surrender, which marked the end of World War II, reached the streets of New York City and a joyful sailor grabbed a nurse, spontaneously planting a victory kiss.
The famous photograph, taken by Alfred Eisentaedt and made iconic by Life magazine, was erected in 3-D this week with the unveiling of a giant 26-foot-high statue around which hundreds of New Yorkers and tourists will pucker up tonight at exactly 7:03 PM, memorializing the moment when the words came across the Times ticker: “Official: Truman announces Japanese surrender.”
The sculpture, called Unconditional Surrender, has been installed only for the weekend at the corner of 44th Street and Broadway, the spot the picture was a taken.
The Times Square Alliance is sponsoring the massive kiss-in, which will welcome veterans from World War II and Iraq and volunteers dressed in period costume to help celebrate the anniversary of V-J Day, says an AFP news report.
(SEE full story, history, and statue, in the Daily Mail)