(CNN) – The picture of a sailor locked in a spontaneous kiss in the middle of Times Square during Victory of Japan Day has long been synonymous with the jubilation felt at the end of World War II.
George Mendosa claimed to be the man featured in the iconic photo. He passed away Sunday, just two days before his 96th birthday.
Mendosa served as a quartermaster during the war.
He was in Times Square on August 14th, 1945 with his future wife when the announcement about the end of the war was made.
Mendosa’s daughter says a nearby photographer captured the image of her father kissing who he thought was a nurse.
The moment lives on as a symbol of the excitement felt on that day.
Mendosa with be buried in Middletown, Rhode Island.
The woman in the picture, Greta Friedman, died two years ago.
She and Mendosa met the photographer behind the picture several years ago.
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