Join author George Galdorisi as he discusses his book, “The Kissing Sailor,” co-authored by Lawrence Verria. This entertaining read lifts the veil on one of the most iconic photographs in American popular culture. The photo, taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt, portrays a U.S. Navy sailor embracing and kissing a total stranger on Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) in New York City's Times Square on August 14, 1945. Galdorisi gives an entertaining and bittersweet account of the amorous pair and how their lives changed after their spontaneous embrace was published in Life Magazine.
About the Authors:
George Galdorisi, Captain, USN (Retired) spent thirty years on active duty, which included four
command tours and five years as a carrier strike group chief of staff. He began his writing career in
1978 with an article in the U.S. Naval Institute’s professional magazine, Proceedings.
He has written several books, including the New York Times bestseller, Tom Clancy Presents: Act of
Valor, the novelization of the Bandito Brothers/Relativity Media film, and The Kissing Sailor. He has
received a number of national and international writing awards, including: the Navy League of the
United States Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement, the Naval Helicopter Historical
Association Mark Starr Pioneer Literary Award, and the Military Writers Society of America Silver
Medal Award. He currently lives and works in Coronado, California.
Lawrence Verria currently teaches history at North Kingstown High School in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
About the Photographer: Alfred Eisenstaedt was a German-born American photographer and
photojournalist. He began his career in Germany prior to World War II but achieved prominence as a
staff photographer for Life Magazine after moving to the U.S. Life featured more than 90 of his
photographs on its covers, as well as more than 2,500 of his photo stories. In subsequent years, he
also published in Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, and Town & Country.
Note: This virtual program will air on the museum’s Facebook page on Valentine’s Day 2024.
Alfred Eisenstaedt, Life Magazine and Time Warner, Inc.
The Naval Institute Press
