You Won’t Believe This Incredible Fact About This Historic Photo

There’s a good chance you’ve never heard the name George Mendonsa before…and even if you have, there’s a chance you don’t remember why.  But he should be remembered.  He was a World War II veteran and he just died on Sunday.  He was 95.

So why would you remember him?  Well he was in one of the most famous photos ever taken.  You may remember him as the sailor kissing the woman in Times Square to celebrate the end of the war.

BUT…did you know that the woman in the photo, Greta Friedman, wasn’t even “with Mendonsa” at the time!  He was actually on a first date with someone else!  His girlfriend Rita Petry would go on to become his wife…and she was there with him!

She said, quote, "I was in the background, grinning like a mutt.  It didn't matter to me."  They married in 1946, and were together until his death.

Everyone started drinking and celebrating in the streets.  That's when he saw Greta Friedman, who he thought was a nurse.  In an interview a few years ago, George said, quote, "We're all drinking and raising hell . . . it was just plain instinct, I guess.  I just grabbed her."

She said, "I was in the background, grinning like a mutt.  It didn't matter to me."  They married in 1946, and were together until his death.