Affectionate Sailors on Destroyer

Anonymous vintage snapshot of four sailors relaxing on the deck of the USS Mullany, a WWII era Destroyer. From the collection of Lt. (JG) L.A. Sawyer, we don't know if he's one of the men in the photo.

What makes this image special is the warm physical intimacy and affectionate gaze of the dark and handsome shirtless sailor on the right.

3 1/2" x 2" 1/2"
Gloss paper, in very good condition, with some black photo album paper on verso.
c. 1942-45

-An interesting side note-

On 6 April 1945, Mullany opened fire on a Japanese kamikaze at 17:45. A few seconds later the fighter, smoking from numerous hits, slammed into the after deckhouse. Before damage control parties could remove all the wounded from the twisted metal, the ship's depth charges exploded. In the next 20 minutes three more enemy aircraft attacked.

At 18:29 Commander Momm (that’s with two m’s) gave the order to abandon ship. USS Gherardi stood by to take on survivors and spray water on Mullany. The USS Execute rescued 70 members of the crew from the water and helped fight the fires. Eventually the Mullany limped off for Pearl Harbor and San Francisco, arriving 29 May. Courage and determination saved their ship, but 21 of her crew were killed, nine missing, and 36 wounded.