A relaxed moment at a Pacific island base camp during World War II, as a young serviceman poses on a walkway of perforated steel planking between rows of pyramidal tents. Snapshots like this, preserved in personal photo albums such as that of Edward P. McAleer, document the everyday, off-duty side of military life far removed from combat -- the makeshift infrastructure, tropical climate, and camaraderie that defined service in the island-hopping campaigns of the Pacific War. Project: 218137