“Sgt. Lily and the Desert Tank” — El Alamein, Egypt (1942, WWII)

Sergeant William “Dusty” Hale commanded a Sherman tank marked with a crude pinup art painting called “Lily of Cairo,” a pinup girl inspired by pinup model magazine imagery and turned into a rough pinup illustration on the turret.

The pinup portrait became part of the crew’s identity. During the chaos of El Alamein, the tank was separated and accidentally rolled into an enemy position. Outnumbered, they still escaped after knocking out two guns in a sudden dust storm.

Hale always tapped the faded pinup illustration on the turret and said, “Lily doesn’t like crowds.”