Sailor in the iconic WWII Times Square photo dies at 95

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George Mendonsa, the sailor in the iconic WWII Times Square kiss photo, died last week at the age of 95. 

The photo, taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt on Aug. 14, 1945, has become one of the most iconic photographs of the 20th century. In it, Mendonsa kisses Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant in a nurse's uniform, to celebrate Japan's surrender to the United States. Mendonsa, on leave from his duty station aboard a destroyer, didn't know Friedman — and it would be years before the two individuals in the photo were identified.

Mendonsa's daughter, Sharon Molleur, told The Providence Journal that Mendonsa fell and had a seizure at his assisted living facility in Middletown, Rhode Island. He lived there with his wife of 70 years.

Friedman died in 2016 at the age of 92. 

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