NEW ORLEANS — They were puckering up for patriotism at the National World War II Museum on Saturday to commemorate the iconic image of a sailor embracing and smooching a nurse in New York’s Times Square upon learning Japan had surrendered.
The museum contest was one of several commemorating the 65th anniversary of V-J Day, including an event in Times Square itself, in which hundreds of couples donned sailor’s hats and nurses caps and smooched.
A statue of the kiss went up in Times Square on Thursday.
The “Keep the Spirit of ’45 Alive!” grassroots campaign held events across the country marking the day of remembrance Aug. 14 to WWII’s “greatest generation.” The picture by Alfred Eisenstaedt ran on the cover of “Life” magazine and embodied the feeling the news of the end of the war inspired.
“It was a great thing,” said Sumner Shumway, 87, of Strasbourg, Pa., who was on the USS Bon Homme Richard off the coast of Japan when the surrender occurred. “It was a long war, and everyone was so happy to see it end.” Shumway was making his first visit to the World War II museum.
David Butler, 27, of Houston, a World War II re-enactor, wore a reproduction of an Army uniform from that era. His wife, Holland, 25, wore a reproduction of a 1940s dress in red, white and blue.
“We love doing World War II re-enacting, and we love kissing,” David Butler said. “So this was the perfect contest for us.”
The couple took the top prize, a bottle of champagne and tickets to the museum.
