Before boarding the ship for Europe, he had free time and visited several New York landmarks. A photographer saw Bill as he passed by his shop and asked him to come in for a picture. (NYC photographers made a lot of money taking pictures of soldiers before they left the States. Almost all soldiers wanted pictures to share with family so photographers stayed very busy.) He took several pictures of Bill in uniform. With the last picture the photographer adjusted Bill’s collar before snapping the picture. This was Bill's favorite picture from the war. He didn’t receive the photos until 1944, in France, two years after they were taken.
After being in France for a few months and after the worst fighting was over in the capital, soldiers often used their free time to become tourists. Bill and a buddy were in Paris visiting landmarks and saw this very attractive young lady coming towards them. Bill wanted to send home a picture of this woman standing with him. Not being very conversant in French, Bill pointed to his friend’s camera and said to the woman, “Photograph?” in “pigeon-French.” She smiled, said “Oui,” and Bill put his arm around her waist. The photograph was taken, the woman gave Bill a smile and a nod of her head, and then continued on her way. Bill was so proud of that photo and shared it with the folks back home. His mother said later that this photo really did prove “war is hell!”
The reactions of those under occupation made Bill and his fellow servicemen proud to be Americans. They were showered with flowers, treated to food and wine, and made to feel very welcomed in the towns and countryside they traveled through. They felt they had had a real purpose in being over there and that they had met their goal.