When a Kiss was More than Just a Kiss

By Ajay Pradhan | Sept. 5, 2008

He returned
She looked

He paused
She waited

He smiled
She sighed

He held her
She held her breath

He kissed her
And she swooned and melted

Someone clicked
And the world saw

























Note:
This is probably the most famous picture in history of a man kissing a woman. The man was a sailor, the woman a nurse, the place was the Times Square in New York City, and the day was the V-J Day on August 14, 1945. The day was the celebration of Japan's surrender in the World War II. The man and the woman did not know each other. The identity of the kissers have been speculated but still remains a mystery. Besides the crowd cheering the exuberant sailer and the surprised nurse, there was a third person in that scene that day. That person was Alfred Eisenstaedt, a Life magazine's photographer who shot this iconic picture of celebration, exhileration, relief, joy and victory.