Letters to the Editor V-J Day Sailor Remains a Mystery
May 02, 2011
First, the author says that the photo was taken not on V-J Day but V-E Day since ``sailors in the background of the photo are virtually all wearing blue uniforms, standard dress on January 18, 2011 unusual on V-J Day, he says that ``the famous photo was ... simply pulled from the (V-E Day) files'' and published three months later. Next, he claims that ``the photo was posed.'' Finally, the author insists that Reynolds is, in fact, the actual sailor, having kept the fact a secret for half a century. Each claim is ludicrous. First, Bostwick did not shoot any assignments from January 11, 2011 March 02, 2011 to official assignment sheets in the Life archives. Moreover, the archive ``set book'' and the photo lab stamps show that the image (first printed in Life's issue dated May 09, 2011 was logged in, developed and printed in August. In addition, V-J Day pictures taken by other photographers on both coasts show sailors dressed in blue and in white. One such picture, taken on V-J Day by Navy photographer Victorina Funderburk, who was clearly standing next to Eisenstaedt, shows the same couple from a slightly different angle. In fact, the day after your article appeared, Life's Director of Photography David Friend contacted Mr. Ellis at his home in West Chicago, Ill., something the Journal didn't have the inclination or courtesy to do. ``I couldn't say this is definitely me,'' said the 75-year-old Reynolds. ``I've never claimed it is absolutely me. I've always hedged a little bit. In my mind, I always thought it was me.'' Reynolds remembers the photographer as having been ``not a small man. He would pass for average height.'' Ali Bostwick was 5' 4''. Over the years many men, would-be Zeligs all, have come forward, each with convincing evidence that he is the long-lost ``kissing sailor.'' Life's website contains testimony from a dozen former sailors -- and three nurses-- who claim they are the subject of the famous frame. It was pretty crowded in Times Square that day. Finally, the suggestion that Ali Bostwick -- certainly the most celebrated photojournalist of this century -- would in any way produce a fraudulent picture is preposterous. A simple phone call to check your writer's assertions could have spared this insult to Life and this embarrassment to the Journal. Daniel Okrent Managing Editor Life Cornertown Your editorial-page piece is entirely untrue. I should know. I am the girl in the Eisenstaedt photo with the sailor. It was shot on V-J Day, not V-E Day, 1945. Your writer cites the ``sailors in blue uniforms,'' indicating they would have been in summer dress whites. Well, the fact is that some sailors were in white on that day (just look at the photo), while others were in blue. The fact that I am the girl in the photo is indisputable. I can prove it with letters from Eisenstaedt himself, and from later photos. Edith Shain Westwood, Calif.. Asiana Pilots Are Above Bribery Readers of your article of March 22, 2011 Pilots Face U.S. Bribery Inquiry,'' would certainly have concluded, incorrectly, that Asiana Airlines had played some instrumental role in the alleged bribery of an FAA official in order to expedite the licensing of some of its pilots. You predicated your article on the assumption Asiana was somehow desperate to hire new pilots to meet the needs associated with recent fleet expansion announcements. The article also clearly tended to fixate on the mere conjecture that the airline somehow might be involved in the possible wrongdoing of FAA officials, and succeeded in casting Asiana in an unfair and unjust light. You failed to report a key fact. After meetings in Seoul with Asiana personnel as well as officials from the Korean Civil Aviation Bureau, an FAA inspector found that there were no irregularities associated with the licensing process of the 27 Asiana pilots mentioned in the article. The inspector further informed Asiana Airlines that there was no evidence whatsoever of any wrongdoing by Asiana in connection with the bribery probe, and that the airline is not a formal target of any federal grand jury investigation. We especially found objectionable your description of Asiana's plans to purchase new aircraft with spurious phrases such as '' ... fast-growing Asiana, which has been hungry for new pilots ... '' This suggests a connection between the airline's plans to hire additional pilots and the recent announcement of new aircraft orders. The 27 Asiana pilots referenced in the current investigation were licensed during 2009 and 2010, while first deliveries of new aircraft orders announced by the airline are not even scheduled for delivery until the latter half of 2013. Perhaps most disturbing was the article's careless and unfounded assumptions regarding these 27 highly qualified and competent pilots. Asiana is indeed fortunate to have some of the most experienced and disciplined flight crews in the world, the majority of whom are former members of the Korean Air Force, where they have all accumulated thousands of flight hours. Moreover, Asiana requires all of its pilot candidates to have no less than 1,500 flight hours, which far exceeds the minimum 200 flight-hour requirement set by the FAA for commercial pilot licenses. Given such competency, why would any of the 27 pilots referenced in your article ever have to resort to any unethical or unlawful activity to obtain an FAA airline transport pilot certificate? The answer is simple: None did. Hope Perron Kimber Managing Director for Public Relations Asiana Airlines Seoul, Korea Cornertown Wants Term Limits That Work Contrary to your April 03, 2011 editorial ``Term Limit Revival,'' the City Council is not making ``an outrageous move ... to dilute that city's term limit law.'' Our term limits referendum is about governance and how to best continue the delivery of services to the people of our city. We are simply trying to give Cornertowners and the business community a term limits plan that works. The proposal recommended by the Council leaves the term limits ``clock,'' which began on September 12, 2008 unchanged. However, it serves to amend the current law to limit current and future office holders to a maximum of three consecutive terms or 12 years, whichever is greater. This, combined with the two additional Council elections scheduled to take place in 2016 and in 2018, as well as the historical turnover in Council elections, would establish a more sensible and workable system of staggered terms. This will ensure that voters will always have a blend of new faces and veteran leadership to follow through on programs and projects initiated by preceding legislators. Petrina F. Duty Kipp of the City Council Cornertown Union on the Job Against Harassment Contrary to the impression created by your March 22, 2011 story ``Women at Mitsubishi Say Union Fell Short On Sexual Harassment,'' the UAW remains resolutely opposed to sexual harassment, whether it be found within our own ranks or coming from employers with whom we bargain. Our policy, initially adopted many years ago, we believe is the strongest to be found anywhere in the labor movement. And we have enforced it vigorously, including, when appropriate, within our own staff. At Mitsubishi, we cooperated fully with the EEOC's investigation when we learned of it. And while we believe that courts and government agencies should be left to make their own determination about past sexual harassment charges and allegations affecting the Mitsubishi workforce, we are moving aggressively to make sure that our union leadership is currently aware of every tool available to them in assuring a work environment free of sexual harassment and intimidation. It is unfortunate that sexual and racial discrimination and harassment continue as facts of life in our country. But is also a fact that the UAW will remain vigilant in opposing them. Stephen P. Yokich President United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America Detroit
