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00:00You can buy this black and white print at an interior shop
00:03Ready-framed if you fancy
00:04A chic candid
00:06Perfect for a bedroom maybe
00:07Have you seen this picture before?
00:08Yes, I have actually
00:09It's quite a famous one in New York
00:11They look like they haven't seen each other in a while
00:14Like a long time
00:15It says spontaneity and celebration
00:18But did you know that the woman in this picture
00:20Whose name is Greta Friedman
00:22Hated every second of this kiss
00:24Oh f**k
00:25She has since said that she had no idea that this strange man
00:28Whose name is George Mendonca was going to kiss her
00:31Her hand looks a bit tense doesn't it?
00:33I did not see him approaching
00:34And before I know it I was in his vice grip
00:37She told CBS News in 2012
00:39Okay so now I feel really bad for saying all the nice things about it
00:42I felt that he was very strong
00:44He was just holding me tight
00:46It wasn't a romantic event
00:47Oh f**k
00:50That's so sad
00:51Marie, like holding the girl
00:54It's not like natural
00:55But if it did happen to me
00:56I would react in an ugly way
00:58The picture was so iconic I would hate that
01:01I would absolutely hate that
01:02Mendonca, a US Navy soldier
01:04Might have been excited since this kiss happened
01:06On the day that Japan surrendered to the United States in 1945
01:10He has since said that the reason he grabbed someone dressed like a nurse
01:13Was just because he felt very grateful to nurses
01:16But even if he risked his life at war
01:18Putting an unconsenting woman in a headlock
01:20And planting one on her is not really acceptable
01:23It's very very different than what I would allow my daughter to put up with now
01:27They put statues of this kiss around America and Europe
01:31I became a bit disgusted
01:34And so why do we make it prolific?
01:36I wouldn't want a statue of someone basically assaulting me
01:40Although more recently in 2014
01:42A French feminist group did protest to have one taken down
01:45Friedman hasn't been completely negative about the kiss though
01:48She also said it was a wonderful coincidence
01:51A man in a sailor's uniform and a woman in a white dress
01:54And a great photographer at the right time
01:56So who took it?
01:57It was photographed by Alfred Eisenstedt
01:59A distinguished photographer who had worked with a range of people
02:02From Bette Davis to Kennedy
02:04The photograph was published a week later in Life magazine
02:07Among many other photos of V-Day celebrations around the US
02:10Initially the stars of the photo were a mystery
02:13Life did ask them to reveal themselves but no one did for decades
02:16However later on many people started coming forward
02:19And eventually an exhaustive study was carried out in 2012
02:22To conclusively prove both identities
02:24Once discovered Friedman actually kept in touch with Mendonca
02:27They reunited in Times Square for a kiss reenactment in 1980
02:31And stayed talking to each other sharing family updates throughout the years
02:35God this is a roller coaster
02:36If I go back in time and perhaps sit on my mother's shoulders
02:40I think my mum would probably have tolerated it
02:42Although Friedman didn't enjoy the kiss
02:44She does have slightly fonder memories of other aspects of that day
02:48She remembers going back to the office telling them the war was over
02:51And they cancelled all their appointments and went home early