From the mail bag

Editor's note: The following was submitted by Eagle subscriber Ginger Harrington. The article originally appeared in "The Scuttlebutt," Spring of 2024 newsletter from the U.S. Orion Veterans Historical Organization.

Harrington writes: "Some of us remember the cover of 'Life' magazine. I telephoned Robert and Suzi Huehn, editors of 'The Scuttlebutt,' and asked if I could submit this article to my local paper for reprint and they graciously gave me permission."

Carl Muscarello, World War II veteran known as Times Square 'kissing sailor,' passed away recently at the age of 97 at his daughters home in Atlanta, Georgia on February 27, 2024.

He gained national celebrity as the 'kissing sailor' whose photo appeared on the cover of "Life" magazine planting a smooch on a nurse in New York's Times Square as World War II ended in 1945.

According to his obituary, through much of his life, the U.S. Navy veteran, retired New York police detective, corporate fraud detective and former Plantation resident, leveraged that fame into good works by raising money and supporting charities including "Honor Flights" for veterans who visit war memorials in Washington D.C.

Carl was stationed on a base in New York where his crew supplied fuel and food to submarines and inspected them for leaks. On V-J Day, his captain told the sailors to take a 72-hour leave that the war was over.

Muscarello had told the story that he was going to go home, but everyone was going to Manhattan so he went to Times Square and someone bought him several beers. Several beers turned into somewhere around 10 beers.

He said he just started kissing all the women in sight since he saw that everyone was kissing everyone. He noticed a photographer following him, carrying a box camera. Muscarello said Alfred Eisenstaedt later told him he was waiting for him to kiss a woman in a white dress. That woman in a white dress, a nurse named Edith Shain, died at 91 years old in 2010 in Los Angeles. Eisenstaedt identified Shain as the nurse in the picture in 1980.

Thank you to Tom Pieper, who was also a menmber of the OVHO, for informing us of Carl's passing.