by Gina Elise

From the Washington Post, June 24 "Edith Shain, nurse kissing Navy man in Eisenstaedt's WWII photo, dies at 91":

Edith Shain, 91, widely believed to be the uniformed nurse whose lip-locking embrace with a Navy sailor at the end of World War II was captured in a photograph that became one of the most iconic images of the time, died of cancer June 20 at her home in Los Angeles.

Ms. Shain was working at Doctors Hospital in New York on Aug, 14, 1945, the day the war ended with the surrender of Japanese troops. She and thousands of other jubilant New Yorkers flooded Times Square, where a young man in Navy blues was smooching women as he made his way through the crowd.

"Someone grabbed me and kissed me, and I let him because he fought for his country," Ms. Shain said. "I closed my eyes when I kissed him. I never saw him."

The phrase is true: A picture is worth a thousands words.

Edith's picture in Times Square personified the exuberance of America's victory at the end of WWII. Images last forever. This image will illustrate for generations to come the joy of returning home from war--and that is timeless. Google lists this picture as the most famous kiss ever.

Although Edith has passed, this shot will remain forever in people's hearts. This homecoming will be forever repeated as long as Americans go off to war. I posted this picture today on Facebook, in honor of Edith, and received a comment from a mother: "I was sad to hear of her passing. Seeing this picture is always stirring but especially right now since my soldier just returned home yesterday."

I feel very honored to have participated in parades with such an iconic figure. I hope that my Pin-Ups For Vets photos also inspire boosts in morale for our troops who are looking forward to returning home.

From the Editor - regular readers of Libertarian Republican may be aware that our friend Gina is the saluting navy gal at the top of our blog. We've promoted her most wonderful charity effort PinUpforVets.com over the years. She's even been a guest twice on "Libertarian Politics Live." We urge our readers to contribute to Gina's very worthy cause, to help our Veterans in VA hospitals nationwide.

I served in the US Navy, 1981-85 aboard the USS Kittyhawk CV 63, and USS Luce DDG-38, Persian Gulf War, and Indian Ocean.