The ‘V-J Day in Times Square’ image was seen as depicting a “non-consensual act”
The legendary photo of a sailor kissing an unsuspecting nurse in Times Square in NYC during celebrations of Japan’s surrender in World War II will continue to decorate the facilities of the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), the agency’s head Denis McDonough has assured.
McDonough made the statement on Tuesday shortly after a memo aiming to ban the iconic image began circulating on social media. It was sent to VA’s regional offices by the agency’s assistant secretary of health for operations, RimaAnn Nelson, in late February and claimed that the ‘V-J Day in Times Square’ photo depicted a “non-consensual act.”
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
The type of behavior that was captured by Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt in New York City on August 14, 1945 is “inconsistent with the VA’s no-tolerance policy toward sexual harassment and assault,” Nelson wrote.
The image, copies of which are displayed at the US Department of Veteran Affairs facilities as a symbol of the conclusion of World War II, can’t serve that purpose anymore because perspectives on historical events “evolve” in society, she explained.
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