V-J Day Kiss Photo Memo Controversy Goes Viral, RimaAnn Nelson Issues Memo For Banning the Image
RimaAnn Nelson on February 29, 2024, released a memo and announced that the incredible “V-J Day Times Square kiss photo will be banned” from all healthcare facilities of VA, Veterans Affairs.
The Military Times reported that the picture was captured as a moment of celebration. It marked the end of World War II which occurred on August 14, 1945.
The Assistant Under Secretary, of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Nelson, who joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1994, stated in the memo that, “The photograph, which depicts a non-consensual act, is inconsistent with the VA’s no-tolerance policy towards s*xual harassment and assault.”
Denis McDonough, the Veterans Affairs Secretary, and RimaAnn’s superior overruled the plan on March 5, 2024, to ban the “V-J Day kiss photo.” According to Fox News, Denis went to X and wrote that the picture can be accessed across all VA facilities.
The official website of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs declares RimaAnn Nelson currently as the “Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Operations in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).” She took over the position in January 2022.
Exploring the V-J Day Kiss Photo Controversy
In February 2024, RimaAnn Nelson issued her memo and asked the VHA officials to quickly remove the popular “V-J Day kiss photo.” The memo was issued to remove the picture from all VA facilities. The image was tagged as “a non-consensual act.”
According to RimaAnn Nelson, the image violated the ‘no-tolerance policy’ of the department for assault and harassment. Her colleagues were asked to displace the picture, reported New York Times.
Her memo read: ” 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.”
RimaAnn Nelson’s memo claimed that initially, the picture marked the commemoration of the end of World War II. However, with time representations and views on historical events have evolved.
Nelson’s memo went viral when an X (formerly Twitter) account with ID @EndWokeness posted it on March 5, 2024. The tweet garnered people’s attention and went viral. Netizens regard the memo as a “politically correct move.”
In the wake of this, Denis McDonough, the VA Secretary tried to reverse than ban by taking it to X and wrote, “This image is not banned from VA facilities — and we will keep it in VA facilities.”
Meanwhile considering the secretary’s sentiments, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released a statement that read, “VA will NOT be banning this photo from VA.”
According to Military Times, the authorities at the VA mentioned that RimaAnn Nelson shouldn’t have made the memo public in the first place. Until now it is shrouded in mystery whether Nelson consulted the other department senior officials while preparing the memo or not.
About V-J Day Kiss Photo
The “V-J Day kiss photo” was clicked on August 14, 1945, by Alfred Eisenstaedt, Life Magazine photojournalist in New York City’s Times Square. It was captured to celebrate the end of World War II and Japan’s surrender.
The image shows an American sailor kissing a woman in a medical worker’s uniform by holding her. The duo are surrounded by a huge crowd of people. However, it is unclear whether the duo were a couple or not.
Over the years, people have believed that the duo were Greta Friedman and George Mendosa.
