October 14, 2018:

Army men.

Dress greens, ties, the big buttons and tiny lapels of the war era. Private's stripe, sergeant's stripes, hands behind backs. His writing on the flipside reads: "Sill in the zoo Sept 1943".

The zoo here is the San Francisco Presidio. It's obvious from the pine trees and the sky. There are other photos of them in front of well-known buildings, but here you can just tell.

They haven't been to war yet.

They're both laughing.

It's the biggest, most unforced smile I've ever seen on that face. Two years before the Ardennes or Ahlem or Salzwedel. Spontaneous.

They look overjoyed to be together.