They tried to BAN the iconic "kiss" photo celebrating the end of WWII from VA facilities here in America? What???

No joke. Some top bureaucrat in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs sent out a memo trying to ban this iconic WWII photo from being displayed in VA facilities.

I first saw this story as Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-MT), a retired Navy SEAL commander, lashed out at the VA via X. Here's what he said Tuesday:

Rep. Zinke: UNAMERICAN. The Biden administration is now banning one of the most iconic photos in WW2 history, the famous Times Square kiss between a nurse and a sailor. Their rewriting of American history and American culture will not stand.

Montana's US Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) isn't putting up with this nonsense either. He and Zinke both demanded answers from the VA Secretary, a Biden appointee.

Rep. Zinke: Biden’s VA is censoring American history and culture. Today @SteveDaines and I demanded VA Secretary answer why the VA banned the iconic photo of a sailor kissing a nurse at the end of WW2, and are not focused on fixing the broken system.

As The Daily Caller reports: "RimaAnn Nelson, who serves as the assistant undersecretary for health for operations at the Veterans’ Health Network, a VA sub-agency, directed regional officials to remove the photo from all health facilities “to foster a more trauma-informed environment,” according to a memo dated Feb. 29, 2024 that was shared on social media by the account End Wokeness."

The VA Secretary has now responded by saying that the image will be kept in VA facilities. To that, Florida Congressman and Green Beret Colonel Mike Waltz (R-FL) said this: "The fact one of your VA bureaucrats tried to ban this is telling."

Photo Above: An Inside Look At The Hulton Archive

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: A black and white print of a couple kissing in Times Square on VJ Day, taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt, is laid out from the vast collection of historic photographs stored in the Hulton Archive on May 13, 2011 in London, England. The comprehensive archive contains pictures created at the birth of photography in the early 1800s and covers every era and event through to the 21st century. Staff at the Hulton Archive are employed on a wide range of jobs including: conservation, retouching, hand-printing, scanning and archiving. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

LOOK: 20 photos of shipwrecks from WWI and WWII

Stacker compiled research from news sites, wreckage databases, and local diving centers to provide context for a series of striking images of WWI and WWII shipwrecks.

Gallery Credit: Elias Sorich

Source: Montanans Fight to Keep Legendary VJ Day Photo in VA Facilities