The Department of Veteran Affairs just banned the the famous World War II photo of a Navy sailor kissing a woman in Times Square New York on VJ Day.
“To foster a more trauma-informed environment photographs depicting the V-J Day kiss should be removed from all Veterans facilities,” it said.
Apparently, abandoned kissing is dangerous and will cause veterans to faint in shock, or get PTSD, or something. It’s typical revisionism from a department that should be working on their wait times for veterans to see doctors. The devil finds work for idle hands and it’s time the Veterans’ Administration was stripped of mindless bureaucrats and DEI experts concocting wasteful schemes and their salaries redirected to much-needed medical care.
A copy of a memo from RimaAnn Nelson, the VA assistant secretary for health for operations, was shared widely on social media. She had sent the memo to the Veterans Integrated Services Network Directors on Feb. 29, requesting the photo be removed and replaced at all VA facilities to maintain a “safe, respectful, and trauma-informed environment.”
Nelson wrote that the photo “depicts a non-consensual act” which is “inconsistent with the VA’s no-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and assault.”
The @DeptVetAffairs apparently just banned this iconic picture. We need a new President. pic.twitter.com/DOCnnYbNzv
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) March 5, 2024
The fallout was swift and brutal and forced the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to rescind the memo.
Let me be clear: This image is not banned from VA facilities – and we will keep it in VA facilities. pic.twitter.com/dYSikLxHAJ
— Secretary Denis McDonough (@SecVetAffairs) March 5, 2024
The memo acknowledged that the image is “iconic” and originally seen as “a symbol of victory and the joyous end to the long and devastating conflict,” earning a place in VA facilities to celebrate and commemorate the end of war and the return of U.S. soldiers.
“However, perspectives on historical events and their representations evolve. Recent discussions have highlighted concerns about the nonconsensual nature of the kiss,” Nelson wrote.
She also claimed that some employees had complained about the photo “as a tacit endorsement of the inappropriate behavior it depicts.’’
This from an agency that a few months was investigated by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee for sexual misconduct and harassment allegations at the VA’s Office of Resolution Management, Diversity and Inclusion, a waste of money ironically meant to promote a harassment-free workplace.