By John Vachon

Marine and his … girlfriend? friend? friend of little sister, who is just out of view? I know I’m not the only one who looks at this photo, taken in Corpus Christi in 1943 by John Vachon, and speculates about the relationship between the Marine and the woman with the cigarette. I say she’s his girlfriend but she’s upset with him right now, and he’s looking into his hands and saying, “Sweetheart, I didn’t mean anything by it …”

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