Activists with the #MeToo movement weren’t about to let World War II veteran George Mendonsa of “The Kiss” rest in peace.
The subject of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic 1945 Times Square photo died on Sunday and roughly 24 hours later a Florida statue of his celebration with Greta Zimmer Friedman was defaced with $1,000 worth of damage.
“This morning, February 19, 2019, at approximately 12:53 a.m., Officers with the Sarasota Police Department were dispatched to the intersection of North Gulfstream Avenue and Bayfront Drive reference to an unknown individual spray painting ’#MeToo’ on the Unconditional Surrender statue,” the Sarasota Police Department wrote on its Facebook page Tuesday.
“It’s believed the incident occurred on Monday, February 18, 2019, between the mid-afternoon and evening hours, however, it is unknown exactly what time,” the statement continued. “The approximate damage is estimated to be more than $1,000 due to the large area that the graffiti covers and the resources needed to repair it.”
The famous photo took place on Aug. 14, 1945, after Japan surrendered to the United States.
Mr. Mendonaa told the Rhode Island State House in 2015 that his joy at the war’s end, coupled with “a few drinks” and Ms. Friedman’s likeness to nurses who cared for wounded sailors, prompted the kiss, The Associated Press reported Monday.
“The guy just came over and kissed or grabbed,” Ms. Friedman told the Library of Congress in 2005, AP added. “It was just somebody really celebrating. But it wasn’t a romantic event.”
The former dental assistant died in Richmond, Virginia, at age 92 in 2016.
Mr. Mendoza died at age 95 in Middletown, Rhode Island.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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