This is a sketch from Bill's sketchbook dated 1948-1951. That would make him 18-21 years old when this was created.

He drew this scene while stationed in Puerto Rico on active duty during the Korean War. His role in the war effort was around the photographic component of the aerial reconnaissance of Cuba.

He entered the military after completing his Chicago art school training before starting his career as an artist. At the time, he was also very active in making photographs. He had full access to the darkroom and photographic materials on base, so he had almost a free hand in artistically capturing his experiences and that time. About 200 photographs remain. I will post a couple of those here in this post too.