VA Backtracks On Ban of Iconic Photo from Its Facilities After Social Media Uproar
@SecVetAffairs on Twitter/X
The iconic image of a sailor kissing a nurse on V-J Day has not been banned by the Department of Veterans Affairs — this, according to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough. At least, it’s not banned anymore.
A memorandum that was issued by the department circulated on social media — originally shared by the account belonging to End Wokeness on Tuesday — claimed that the photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt, taken on August 14, 1945 at the V-J Day celebration in Times Square, was banned from veterans facilities “to foster a more trauma-informed environment.” The memo was shared by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) on Twitter/X:
The @DeptVetAffairs apparently just banned this iconic picture. We need a new President. pic.twitter.com/DOCnnYbNzv
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) March 5, 2024
Many on the Right jumped, including Fox News’ Guy Benson:
c’mon is this real? https://t.co/z4W3isvOBL
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) March 5, 2024
Some critics of the photo have said that since the nurse, Greta Zimmer Friedman, who was actually a dental assistant, did not consent to be kissed by the perhaps overly jubilant sailor, George Mendonsa. The two, who have both since passed away, did not know each other that day. In 2019, a huge statue depicting the image was vandalized with #MeToo graffiti.
The memo, which was signed by Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Operations RimaAnn O. Nelson and dated February 29, 2024, was real, to be certain. However Sec. McDonough has overruled the instruction to remove the photo from VA facilities, saying in his own post on Twitter/X that there was no ban on the image: “Let me be clear: This image is not banned from VA facilities – and we will keep it in VA facilities.”
According to Military Times, VA officials said the memo should not have been sent out and was “formally rescinded” on Tuesday.
