--- title: V-J Day: A Sailor and a Nurse in Times Square and Other Celebrations description: Revisiting Alfred Eisenstaedt's storied photograph, 'V-J Day in Times Square,' and other wild celebrations around the U.S. canonical: https://time.com/3517476/v-j-day-1945-a-nation-lets-loose/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-01T17:52:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:07:21.979Z og:title: V-J Day: A Sailor and a Nurse in Times Square and Other Celebrations og:description: Revisiting Alfred Eisenstaedt's storied photograph, 'V-J Day in Times Square,' and other wild celebrations around the U.S. og:url: https://time.com/3517476/v-j-day-1945-a-nation-lets-loose/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt730934faca1d9556/69876166f887dcc79ae87950/v-j-day-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2014 og:image:height: 1133 og:image:alt: Caption from the August 27, 1945, issue of LIFE. "In the middle of New York's Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers." og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: V-J Day: A Sailor and a Nurse in Times Square and Other Celebrations twitter:description: Revisiting Alfred Eisenstaedt's storied photograph, 'V-J Day in Times Square,' and other wild celebrations around the U.S. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt730934faca1d9556/69876166f887dcc79ae87950/v-j-day-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # V-J Day, 1945: A Nation Lets Loose > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Aug 1, 2014 5:52 PM UTC  Caption from the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of LIFE. "In the middle of New York's Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers." Caption from the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of LIFE. "In the middle of New York's Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers."Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Aug 1, 2014 5:52 PM UTC Made almost 70 years ago, it remains one of the most famous photographs—perhaps _the_ most famous photograph—of the 20th century: a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square on [V-J Day](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory%5Fover%5FJapan%5FDay) in August 1945. That simple, straightforward description of the scene, however, hardly begins to capture not only the spontaneity, energy and exuberance shining from Alfred Eisentaedt’s photograph, but the significance of the picture as a kind of cultural artifact. “V-J Day in Times Square” is not merely the one image that captures what it felt like in America when it was announced, after a half-decade of conflict, that Japan had surrendered and that the War in the Pacific—and thus the Second World War itself—was finally over. Instead, for countless people, Eisentaedt’s photograph captures at least part of what the people experience when war, _any_ war, is ended. (It’s worth noting that many people view the photo as little more than the documentation of a very public sexual assault, and not something to be celebrated.)  Here, LIFE.com presents not only Eisenstaedt’s storied photograph—and a picture of the man himself, along with a companion, in the midst of the hoopla (at right)—but photos made around the country by other LIFE photographers as word spread that Japan had, indeed, surrendered. (The ceremony officially ending the war would not take place for another few weeks, when Japanese representatives signed the documents of surrender aboard the [_USS Missouri_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS%5FMissouri%5F%28BB-63%29) battleship in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945.) While the joy and relief that surged through the entire country—and across much of the globe, or certainly across those parts of it in which the Allies held sway—was heartfelt, the celebrations in many major cities were hardly all sweetness and light. In fact, as several of the pictures and captions here make clear, some of the tumult unleashed by word of Japan’s surrender quickly devolved into what can only be described as riots. Booze flowed; inhibitions were cast off; there were probably as many fists thrown as kisses planted: in other words, once the inconceivable had actually been confirmed and it was clear that the century’s deadliest, most devastating war was finally over, Americans who for years had become accustomed to almost ceaseless news of death and loss were not quite ready for a somber, restrained reaction to the surrender. That response would come, of course. In time, there would be a more considered, reflective take on the war and on the enemies America had fought so brutally, and at such cost, for so long. But in the giddy, chaotic first few hours after the announcement, people naturally took to the streets of cities and towns all over the country. And while some of the merriment was no doubt of a quieter, G-rated variety, it’s hardly surprising that countless grown men and women seized the opportunity for cathartic revelry, giving vent to joy and relief as well as to the pent-up anxieties, fears, sorrows and anger of the previous several years. In other words: the nation let loose. That sort of revelry is not always pretty. Sometimes it can be downright ugly. But to pretend it doesn’t happen (especially when a record of it exists right before one’s eyes) does a disservice to history; to the memories of the men and the women killed and wounded in the war and of those who lived to mark its long-hoped-for end. Scientists can be awfully dry, at least until you get them playing with language Finally, two small but significant pieces of information related to Eisenstaedt’s rightfully famous “Kiss in Times Square” might come—especially when taken together—as a real surprise to fans of both photography and of LIFE magazine in general. First, contrary to what countless people have long believed, the photo of the sailor kissing the nurse did _not_ appear on the cover of LIFE. It did warrant a full page of its own inside the magazine (page 27 of the August 27, 1945, issue, to be exact) but was part of a larger, multi-page feature titled, simply, “Victory Celebrations.” Closely tied to that first point is the fact that, while the conclusion of the Second World War might be something LIFE magazine, of all publications, could be expected to feature on its cover for weeks on end, the magazine’s editors clearly had other ideas. In fact, not only did Eisensteadt’s Times Square photo not make the cover of the August 27th issue; no image related to the war, or the peace, graced the cover. Instead the magazine carried a striking photograph of a ballet dancer. An _underwater_ ballet dancer. _War is over!_ that cover seems to say. _After years of brutal, global slaughter, our lives—-in all their frivolous, mysterious beauty—can finally begin again._ Amen to that. Credits: Eisenstaedt in Times Square, William C. Shrout—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images; LIFE cover, Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from the Aug. 27, 1945, issue of LIFE. "In the middle of New York's Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Contact sheet images from Alfred Eisenstaedt's film, Aug. 14, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Times Square, August 14, 1945 - V-J Day. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "New York's garment district is snowed under by cloth scraps and snips of all colors and materials." Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. V-J Day in New York City, August 14, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. V-J Day in New York City, August 14, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. V-J Day in New York City, August 14, 1945. William C. Shrout—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  New York's Times Square, August 14, 1945 — V-J Day. Herbert Gehr—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. V-J Day in New York City, August 14, 1945. William C. Shrout—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Celebrations in Washington, DC, August 14, 1945 Ñ V-J Day. Marie Hansen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "On Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles carousing servicemen neck atop the hood of a careening jeep. The city rocked with joy as impromptu pedestrian parades and motor cavalcades whirled along, hindered only by hurled whiskey bottles, amorous drunks and collisions." Walter Sanders—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. "In San Francisco sailors break into a liquor store and pilfer the stock. Revel turned into a riot as tense servicemen, reprieved from impending Pacific war-zone duty, defaced statues, over-turned street cars, ripped down bond booths, attacked girls. The toll: 1,000 casualties." Nat Farbman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Celebrations in Chicago, August 14, 1945 - V-J Day. Gordon Coster—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Celebrations in Chicago, August 14, 1945 - V-J Day. Myron Davis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Celebrations in Chicago, August 14, 1945 - V-J Day. Gordon Coster—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Not published in LIFE. Celebrations in Chicago, August 14, 1945 - V-J Day. 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