1. Some Friends

Bill seems to have arrived in a place where he'll be sleeping in a building, rather than a tent. Now we get to meet some of more of his friends. I call this guy "Sad" because his face has such a pensive expression.

He is wearing a wedding ring and a watch, and it looks like he's got his helmet (or a bowl?) tucked under his bed. The bedframe seems to be roughly hewn, his nightstand is just a box with a radio perched on top and his personal effects on top of that.

Sad could be tired after a long day--zoning out while Bill gets the camera ready. Or perhaps he's thinking about his wife and child, visible in the portraits on his nightstand.

Note the box of Kleenex on the left of the portraits, and the rolled-up beret (belt? sash?) resting in front of the portraits. You can see smoking pipes to the right of the portraits, next to a wallet.

And let's not overlook the pinup girls! The wall has quite a few, some with the word "YANK" printed on them. YANK was a weekly magazine for servicemen that was famous for its pinup girls.

We may thank the pinup girls for giving us an idea of when the picture was taken. The pinup on the right is of Nancy Porter from the June 8, 1945 issue and the one on the left is of Ann Miller from the June 29, 1945 issue. Germany surrendered May 8, 1945, so we know this photo was taken after the war ended. (You can read more about YANK magazine here.)