For years we didn't know who was in the picture. All we knew was the picture: a moment in time as a sailor and nurse celebrate the ending of the second World War, with a kiss. The image, taken in Times Square, New York, was first published in Life magazine where it became one of the iconic photographs of that time.
The identities of the man and woman in the picture were not identified until 1980. Before then, many had claimed to be either the nurse or the sailor in the image, but it wasn't until Friedman sent Life magazine pictures of herself to confirm her identity.
Speaking about the moment, Greta, who was actually a dental nurse at the time, said:
"Suddenly, I was grabbed by a sailor. It wasn't that much of a kiss. It was more of a jubilant act that he didn't have to go back. I found out later he was so happy that he didn't have to go back to the Pacific where they had already been through the war. The reason he grabbed somebody dressed like a nurse, that he felt so very grateful to the nurses who took care of the wounded".
The photo was taken by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt, and the image was recreated in 1980, where the couple met for the first time since the that moment in 1945. George Mendonsa, the sailor in the photo, and Greta did not know each other before, or since the picture was captured. When they went to Times Square in 1980 to recreate the image, Greta said:
"I told him I didn't want to redo that pose! We have the picture here, and it is kind of a reenactment of the pose and the sign on Time's Square says, 'It had to be you!'"
Greta died aged 92, in a nursing home in Virginia, her son confirmed.
