The “Unconditional Surrender” statue of a sailor and nurse kissing is back in San Diego
The sculpture known to many as “The Kiss Statue” was scheduled to begin installation Monday morning at the San Diego waterfront.
The 25-foot statue will look the same as the one removed in May but will be bronze thanks to fundraising effort spearheaded by the Midway Museum.
Crews will spend the week cleaning and installing it to get ready for a public dedication on Saturday.
The new area will feature benches and Japanese friendship cherry trees.
The statue of a sailor kissing a nurse replicates a photo taken at the end of World War II. The image of the couple kissing was captured first by a TIME Magazine photographer in 1945.
The piece has been on the waterfront near the Midway Museum since 2007. In May, the original statue was disassembled and shipped off to New Jersey for restoration.
Photo Credit: Megan Tevrizian