The photo shows Edith Shain, dressed in her white nurse's uniform, being dipped and kissed by a jubilant U.S. sailor as V-J Day celebrations roar around them. The image by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt became one of the most famous photos of the WWII era, and was published in Life magazine.
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Edith Shain, the nurse in this iconic photo taken in Times Square as thousands celebrated the end of World War II, died Sunday at age 91.
But the young nurse's identity was a mystery until the 1970s, when Shain wrote the photographer and said she was the nurse in the photo, taken on Aug. 14, 1945, while she was working at the Doctor's Hospital in New York City. The sailor's identity is still unknown.
Shain died Sunday at her Los Angeles home, her family announced Tuesday on her website. She was a registered nurse, kindergarten teacher and public access cable television producer who became famous late in life once her identity in the photo was revealed. She participated in ceremonies on the 50th and 60th anniversaries of V-J Day in 1995 and 2005.
Her son Michael Shain described Eisenstaedt's photo as having captured "an epic moment in American history, one that inspired patriotism, unity, joy and a spontaneous national pride in victoriously ending the war."
As a WWII celebrity later in life, Shain devoted herself to helping veterans. "My mom was always willing take on new challenges and caring for the World War II veterans energized her to take another chance to make a difference," another son, Justin Decker, said on the website.
Shain is survived by three sons, six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.