Florida statue commemorating iconic WWII victory vandalized with '#MeToo' graffiti

SARASOTA, Fla. — An iconic statue depicting the moment a sailor kissed a nurse at the end of World War II was vandalized less than two days after the sailor in the famous photo died at age 95.

Officers with the Sarasota Police Department got a call of someone spraying "#MeToo" on the Unconditional Surrender Statue. The statue shows the moment George Mendonsa kissed Greta Zimmer Friedman in Times Square on V-J Day.

Officers found "#MeToo" in red on the left leg of the nurse.

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Officers were unable to find any cans of spray paint or any surveillance images of the incident.

The vandalism caused $1,000 in damages due to the large area the graffiti covers.

The city tweeted hours later that the graffiti had been removed.

The incident comes only two days after Mendonsa died two days shy of his 96th birthday. Friedman died in 2016.

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call SPD at 941-954-7025.

Also read: 'Kissing Sailor' from iconic Life magazine photo dies

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