hold here ‘till we load our wounded

For Whom the Bell Tolls is a 1943 American war film starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman. Based on the 1940 novel of the same name by Ernest Hemingway, the film is about an American International Brigades volunteer who is fighting in the Spanish Civil War against the fascists (Wikipedia).

Virginia Grey was an American actress who appeared in over 100 films and several radio and television shows from the 1930s to the early 1980s (Wikipedia). Grey was one of the celebrities who joined John Basilone on his war bond tour in 1943 (Wikipedia). She is portrayed by Anna Torv in The Pacific.

Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She was one of Paramount Pictures' most valuable stars, appearing primarily in musicals. She was noted for her energetic performance style (Wikipedia). In late 1944 and early 1945, Hutton toured with the United Service Organization to the Western Pacific, visiting Guam, Saipan, Tinian, the Marshall Islands, the Gilbert Islands, and Iwo Jima. She said of the tour, "Nothing else, no other feeling in the world, could possibly compare with how I felt inside bringing joy to those young men. Everyone would gather close as we exchanged hugs and kisses. Most often, I would sing a few bars from one of my songs, or one they might request. It was difficult for those boys to believe a popular movie entertainer would crawl down into a hole to perform just for them. It wasn't crazy to me at all. I wouldn't have exchanged the precious minutes I had with those guys for anything. I did it as much for me as I did for them, but who actually received the most from the exchange is anyone's guess" (Betty Hutton Estate).

The Andrews Sisters were an American singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: LaVerne, Maxene, and Patricia (Patty). The sisters appeared in 17 Hollywood films (Wikipedia, The Great American Songbook). In the years just before and during World War II, the Andrews Sisters were at the height of their popularity, and the group still tends to be associated in the public's mind with the war years. They had numerous hit records during these years, some of which had service or military-related themes, including "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Three Little Sisters", and "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)" (Wikipedia). The song Chuckler is singing in the brig, "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree", is about two young lovers who pledge their fidelity while one of them is away serving in the war.

The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 North Cahuenga Boulevard in the Los Angeles, California, neighborhood of Hollywood between October 3, 1942, and November 22, 1945, as a club offering food, dancing, and entertainment for enlisted men and women, who were usually on their way overseas during World War II. Even though the majority of visitors were US servicemen, the canteen was open to allied countries as well as women in all branches of service. Their tickets for admission were just their uniforms, and everything at the canteen was free of charge. The canteen was co-founded by actors Bette Davis and John Garfield (Wikipedia). Side note: John Garfield was also one of the celebrities who joined John Basilone on his war bond tour (Wikipedia, Raritan Online).

(You can view some photographs taken during the club's operation here [via Historic Hollywood Photographs])

Rita Hayworth was an American actress and dancer. She is one of the most renowned actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and was the second top pin-up girl for GIs during World War II, after Betty Grable (Wikipedia).

Side note: While her most famous film, Gilda (1946), was in release, it was widely reported that an atomic bomb that was scheduled to be tested at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean's Marshall Islands would bear an image of Hayworth, a reference to her "bombshell" status (Wikimedia Commons). Although the gesture was intended as a compliment, Hayworth was reportedly deeply offended at the sentiment.

Betty Grable was an American actress, dancer, model, and singer. Throughout her career, Grable was a celebrated sex symbol. Her bathing-suit poster made her the top pin-up girl of World War II. The photo was later included in Life magazine's project "100 Photographs That Changed the World" (Wikipedia).

Below are Rita Hayworth's most famous pin-up and Betty Grable's famous pin-up:

The photo of Betty Grable in H Company's tent appeared in the August 1942 issue of Esquire magazine:

Test Pilot is a 1938 drama film starring Clark Gable, Myrna Loy, and Spencer Tracy. The film is about a daredevil test pilot, his wife, and his best friend (Wikipedia).

Rita Hayworth was an American actress and dancer. She is one of the most renowned actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and was the second top pin-up girl for GIs during World War II, after Betty Grable (Wikipedia). These are the photos Brady has of Hayworth:

Bing Crosby was an American singer and actor. One of the first multimedia stars, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide (Wikipedia). During World War II, Crosby made live appearances before American troops who had been fighting in the European Theater. He learned how to pronounce German from written scripts and read propaganda broadcasts intended for German forces. The nickname "Der Bingle" was common among Crosby's German listeners and came to be used by his English-speaking fans. In a poll of U.S. troops at the close of World War II, Crosby topped the list as the person who had done the most for G.I. morale, ahead of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, General Dwight Eisenhower, and comedian Bob Hope (Wikipedia, USO).

Hit the Ice is a 1943 comedy film starring comedy duo Abbott and Costello. The film is about two cameramen chased by gangsters who get jobs as waiters in small-town Idaho (Wikipedia).

Lena Horne was an American singer, actress, dancer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television, and theater (Wikipedia). Horne became a fixture at the Tuskegee airbase in Alabama during World War II. There, she did everything from taking flying lessons to eating lunch with cadets to adhering to their early rising schedule. She returned to Tuskegee numerous times to boost morale, and in 1944, she served as a guest of honor at one of their graduation ceremonies (Ms. In the Biz). She also performed with the United Service Organization during the war, but eventually became disenchanted because the Army segregated her audiences and, in one instance, seated German POWs in front of Black soldiers. Horne left the USO in 1944 and financed tours of military bases herself for the remainder of the war (Wikipedia).

(You can watch a newsreel from the event pictured in the bottom left photo here [via Hearst Metrotone].)

The photo Macon has on his bunk wall of Lena Horne with a group of Tuskegee Airmen is one taken in 1945 during one of her many trips to the airbase.

The quote Crosby recites is a line spoken by Spencer Tracy in the film Test Pilot, which also starred Clark Gable.

Side note: Clark Gable enlisted in the US Army Air Forces and reportedly flew five combat missions, including one in Germany, as an observer-gunner in B-17 Flying Fortresses with the 351st Bomb Group between May and September of 1943, earning the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his efforts. After a mission in which his fort was heavily attacked, MGM studio executives urged the USAAF to reassign Gable to desk duty. Many of the men he served with said Gable actually unofficially joined other missions, and the aforementioned five were only a fraction of the total. He was discharged in 1947 as a major (Wikipedia, Defense Media Network).