I really thought it was a hoax, but it was not. The iconic WWII Kiss Photo taken in New York City as the world celebrated Victory over Japan was to be banned from all Veterans Administration facilities.

EXCLUSIVE:

The Department Of Veterans Affairs just BANNED the V-J Day kiss photo from all department facilities.

"To promote a culture of inclusivity and awareness… your cooperation is vital." pic.twitter.com/MZfNHbpV76

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) March 5, 2024

It’s worth it to click in order to read that hot mess in full, or you can read it over at HotAir. RimaAnn Nelson stepped on all the damn rakes with that asinine memo. 

“The photograph, which depicts a non-consensual act, is inconsistent with the VA’s no-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and assault,” the memo stated.

“To foster a more trauma-informed environment that promotes the psychological safety of our employees and the veterans we serve, photographs depicting the ‘V-J Day in Times Square’ should be removed from all Veterans Health Administration facilities.”

~Snip

In her memo, Nelson noted that use of the photo in VA facilities “was initially intended to celebrate and commemorate the end of World War II and the triumphant return of American soldiers. However, perspectives on historical events and their representations evolve.”

Nelson wrote that the non-consensual nature of the kiss and “debates on consent and the appropriateness of celebrating such images” led to the decision. Senior leaders did not provide an explanation for the reversal.

Nelson needs one helluva history lesson here. First and foremost, it was a major day of celebration after long years of World War II. Secondly, that sailor was running around kissing everyone, even as his girlfriend (who later became his wife) was right along side him!

Third, the nurse who was kissed, Greta Zimmer, didn’t think anything of it. 

George Mendonsa, 23, had just come back from the Philippines on leave as a Navy quartermaster and was on a date with Rita Petry, 20, when the pair joined the throngs of thousands flocking to the Crossroads of the World in Manhattan on Aug. 14, 1945, to celebrate V-J, or Victory over Japan, Day.

But as the future husband and wife crossed Seventh Avenue at West 44th Street, Mendonsa spotted Greta Zimmer, 21, in a nurse’s uniform — and remembered nurses pulling hundreds of Americans out of the water after two Japanese kamikazes attacked USS Bunker Hill, killing hundreds.

He ran away from Petry, his future wife, and grabbed Zimmer, spun her around, dipped her and kissed her — a now-iconic moment captured by famed “Life” magazine photog Alfred Eisenstaed that came to be etched into the American psyche as a symbol of joy over the end of the war.

Yet, according to Nelson’s memo, this photo would trigger someone given what is depicted (according to RimaAnn) is a non-consensual act of sexual assault. If Nelson had bothered to review her history, she would’ve stumbled across many interviews of both Zimmer and Mendonsa, both of whom were adamant that what happened was a celebratory heat of the moment thing. NOT a sexual assault by any stretch of the imagination! 

Needless to say, the memo detailing that this iconic WWII Kiss Photo would be banned across all Veterans Affairs healthcare facilities was not well received. At. All. 

As an Afghanistan veteran, the radical wokeness spreading throughout our military and Veterans Affairs makes me sick.

The Biden administration’s attempt to ban this iconic photo in order to ‘foster a more trauma-informed environment’ is disturbing beyond comprehension. https://t.co/gXyGfG2Q8e

— Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) March 5, 2024

In fact, it seems her boss, the actual HEAD of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough was totally in the dark about this. And VERY publicly rescinded her ban. 

Let me be clear: This image is not banned from VA facilities – and we will keep it in VA facilities. pic.twitter.com/dYSikLxHAJ

— Secretary Denis McDonough (@SecVetAffairs) March 5, 2024

That’s pretty damned blunt. 

https://twitter.com/ChrisAverillMT/status/1765047738746687686

That’s a really good question. The fact is, this photo is one of many that speak to the joy and overwhelming relief that the war is over. What RimaAnn Nelson, in her zeal to pander to the woke and insult the thousands of veterans across this country, especially those World War II veterans we still have with us, also doesn’t realize is that Greta Zimmer later found out that she lost her parents in the concentration camps.

None of that matters to RimaAnn Nelson. It’s all about the DEI woke inclusivity agenda. 

This is a memo from RimaAnn Nelson, one of the worst VA directors in the country, whose appointment Sinema tried to block. https://t.co/d9uJGSapag pic.twitter.com/NFX2GnZSbw

— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) March 5, 2024

Her track record is the worst and everything she does is detrimental to our veterans. She really needs to be fired. But the VA as a whole also stepped in it because of the move to be “inclusive” meant that the original motto of the VA was changed so that women wouldn’t get their panties in a bunch. Evidently that also means making moves to erase history and thus insult every veteran who has served this country with honor. 

I’m glad for our veterans that this WWII Kiss photo will remain in place. This should never have been an issue, but this is where the woke inclusivity is heading. 

Feature Photo Credit: WWII Kiss Times Square V-J Day via Flickr, public domain, cropped and modified