Glenn Edward McDuffie knows why the sailor kissing a white-clad nurse in that famous photo has his wrist bent back in an awkward position. Taken August 14, 1945 in New York City's Times Square moments after the crowd there heard World War II had ended, that photo has epitomized the jubilant mood of a nation who had won our hard fought victory. Glenn knows why that sailor has his wrist twisted because he is that sailor. Glenn had come to New York after coming off the SS Alexander Lillinton with Jack Holmes (from Pittsburg), the sailor in the dark uniform seen laughing in that same photo. Glenn also knows the sailor in the white uniform's name is Bob Little from Buffalo, New York since he also served on the same ship.
Now ready to turn 80 this August 3rd, Glenn wants to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of his kiss of an overjoyed nurse by setting the record straight. Though numerous would-be kissing sailors have tried to lay claim to being the man in the photo, none know what Glenn McDuffie knows because they are not the man in the photo. Glenn not only knows the names and home towns of the only other sailors seen in the photo. He knows why the sailor smooching the nurse has his hand in such an unnatural position. Glenn tells it like this,
"I rode the subway into Times Square, got off, and when I walked up the stairs, a woman at the top said she was so happy for me. I ask hey 'Why?' and she said 'the war is over, you can go home now!' I was so excited I started jumping up and down and hollering because my oldest brother was a Japanese prisoner of war. He was there when the Philippines fell. Then this nurse held out her arms and I just looked up because I thought we were going to get run over. When I saw it was a photographer, I bent my hand back so you could see the lady's face..."
Glenn McDuffie's chivalrous act is the only explanation that makes sense when one views the photo. Not only does Glenn know why the strange hand position and the names of every sailor in the photo, he is the only man claiming to be the "kissing sailor" who has taken and passed a lie detector test on that subject. In fact, Glenn has passed 10 polygraph examinations proving his claims of being the man in the photo are truthful. In September 1980, he took two polygraph examinations administered by Smiths Security Agency for ABC Channel 13 (Houston, TX) at the behest of reporters John Davenport and Marvin Zindler. On February 14, 1981, the took a series of five tests, all by different operators, for F. Lee Baily's syndicated Lie Detector show. Finally, on August 13, 2005, David Raney, Houston's premier polygraph expert tested Glenn, and he passed with flying colors. Raney has a large poster of the famous photo in this lobby, signed by the man he is certain is in the photo: Glenn McDuffie.
Glenn was shipboard in the middle of the Atlantic on August 27, 1945, when the photo of him and the nurse in a jubilant embrace came out in print for the elated American public. Glenn never saw it till years later. During the summer of 1945 he was more worried about whether his brother, Willie Durant McDuffie, would be liberated from the Japanese. Over the years, McDuffie has tolerated men who did not know the names of the other sailors in the photo and who did not pass, or even agree to offers, of lie detector tests, making frivolous claims they were the man in the photo. None of these men even mention the chivalrous bended hand to show the nurse's face. This plausible reason for the pose proves his first hand experience that day.
Glenn will turn 80 this August 3, 2007. He thinks it is only fitting to set the record straight, once and for all.
As a final proof, biometrics expert, Lois Gibson, has made several comparisons of McDuffie now with his photo in New York's Times Square August 1945. Although it is impossible to compare exact poses, even if the photos are taken days apart, Gibson shows that all the features are consistent. She points out that all individuals' noses grow during their entire life since the nose endings consist of cartilage. As shown in the photos of other war vets, the nose will grow about 18% larger and longer from age 20 to age 70. Consistent with this growth, the only difference between Glenn today and at age 80 and Glenn in the 1945 photo is a longer, larger nose.
A video of McDuffie who lives in Houston was taken by Gibson. This video was edited for brevity to three minutes and shown to several detectives at the Houston Police department. These detectives had seen videos and interviewed suspects for decades in an effort to discover if they were lying or telling the truth. All detectives were positive Glenn McDuffie's claims are true. Sergeant D. Silva who has interviewed suspects for 29 years said "... he is absolutely telling the truth" when he viewed Glenn McDuffie's 3 minute video.
Glenn has married, had children, and engaged in several businesses in his long life. He has let others claim they "think" they must be the sailor that day because they were somewhere among the hundreds of thousands of people in New York that day. The only man who knows everything about the photo is a hero who fought for our country and deserves his due. The young nurse held out her arms right after hearing the war was won and Glenn McDuffie delivered a passionate kiss, chivalrously twisting his hand to show a photographer her face. This country owes Glenn some chivalry now.
