Actress Marlene Dietrich kisses a soldier returning home from war, 1945"
"Actress Marlene Dietrich kisses a soldier returning home from war, 1945" READ TO END It was first published in 'Life' Magazine with the caption: “While soldiers hold her up by her famous legs, Marlene Dietrich is kissed by a home-coming GI”. The ship was the Monticello, a converted cruise liner. Her original name was SS Conte Grande and was built in 1927 in Trieste, Italy. During World War II, she was acquired by the United States and was used as an American troopship—renamed USS Monticello (AP-61) in 1942. At the time the photo was taken it was transporting parts of the 2nd infantry division home. The 2nd division soldiers had entered the war in Normandy on D-Day. They fought across Europe into Czechoslovakia. They arrived in New York (when this photo was taken) on July 20, 1945. The war was not over for them. They were on their way to Camp Swift in Texas for training. They were supposed to be a part of the invasion of Japan. (rarehistoricalphotos.com) (Color by Tou