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Sailor who kissed woman in iconic Times Square photo at end of Second World War dies

In this Aug. 14, 1945 file photo provided by the U.S. Navy, a sailor and a woman kiss in New York's Times Square, as people celebrate the end of World War II.
In this Aug. 14, 1945 file photo provided by the U.S. Navy, a sailor and a woman kiss in New York's Times Square, as people celebrate the end of World War II. Victor Jorgensen/U.S. Navy, File

The ecstatic sailor shown kissing a woman in Times Square celebrating the end of Second World War has died. George Mendonsa was 95.

Mendonsa’s daughter, Sharon Molleur, told The Providence Journal Mendonsa fell and had a seizure Sunday at the assisted living facility in Middletown, Rhode Island, where he lived with his wife of 70 years.

Mendonsa was shown kissing Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant in a nurse’s uniform, on Aug. 14, 1945. Known as V-J Day, it was the day Japan surrendered to the United States.

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The photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt became one of the most famous photographs of the 20th century.

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It was years before Mendonsa and Friedman were confirmed to be the couple.

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Friedman died in 2016 at the age of 92.

Mendonsa died two days before his 96th birthday.

In this July 2, 2009, photo George Mendonsa poses for a photo in Middletown, R.I., holding a copy of the famous Alfred Eisenstadt photo of Mendonsa kissing a woman in a nurse’s uniform in Times Square on Aug. 14, 1945, while celebrating the end of World War II, left. Connie Grosch/Providence Journal via AP

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