Sailor in Times Square kissing photo dies at 95

The sailor pictured kissing a woman in Times Square as people celebrated the end of World War II has died at age 95.

The photo is regarded as one of the most iconic images of the 20th century. Source: Getty Images

George Mendonsa had a seizure Sunday after falling at an assisted living facility in Middleton, Rhode Island, his daughter Sharon Molleur said.

In the famous image, one of four taken by Alfred Eisenstadt for Life magazine, Mr Mendonsa is seen ecstatically  kissing a woman in a white nurse's uniform.

The picture was published by Life as V-J Day in Times Square, referring to the day Japan surrendered to the US.

The iconic photograph later became known simply as The Kiss, and is often regarded as one of the most famous images of the 20th century.

Greta Zimmer Friedman, the woman in the picture, died in 2016 at age 92. 

At the time of the photograph, she was a 21-year-old dental nurse.

"The guy just came over and kissed or grabbed...I found out later, he was so happy he did not have to go to the Pacific where they had been through the war, and the reason he grabbed someone dressed like a nurse was because he just felt very grateful to the nurses who took care of the wounded," she said in a 2005 interview with the Veterans History Project.

"I felt he was very strong, he was just holding me tight...It was just somebody really celebrating, but it wasn't a romantic event."

In 2015, a sculpture of the photograph towered over crowds in Times Square. Source: LightRocket

Mr Mendonsa, who served in the Pacific during World War II, was on home leave when the picture was taken.

Many soldiers claimed to be the man in the photo, but it was not until the advent of facial recognition technology that Mr Mendosa's identity was finally confirmed.

The photographer later described watching the sailor running along the street, and grabbing any girl in sight.

George Mendonsa says he was unaware of the Times Square photograph for 35 years. Source: Tribune News Service

"I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder but none of the pictures that were possible pleased me," he wrote in "Eisenstadt on Eisenstadt."

"Then suddenly, in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse. If she had been dressed in a dark dress I would never have taken the picture."

Mendonsa, who served in the Pacific during World War II, was on home leave when the picture was taken.