The `South Pacific` event was a touching reminder of history, but very different from Aug. 15, 1945, the day Shain recalls that she joined thousands of people whooping it up after Japan surrendered. Right there on Broadway and 45th Street, a sailor suddenly grabbed and kissed her — and the moment was caught by Alfred Eisenstaedt, a Life magazine photographer.
His picture from V-J Day became one of the 20th century`s most iconic images. But Eisenstaedt did not get the names of either party, and efforts years later by Life to identify the pair produced a number of claimants, says Bobbi Baker Burrows, a Life editor with deep knowledge of the subject.
Image: Edith Shain, foreground right, tries to imitate the photo`s embrace with Nick Mayo, foreground left, a member of the cast of the musical South Pacific as they pose with other South Pacific cast members at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York, Sunday Nov. 9, 2008.
