. . . He was a kid cartoonist for Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper; Mauldin's drawings of his muddy, exhausted, whisker-stubbled infantrymen Willie and Joe were the voice of truth about what it was like on the front lines . . .
. . . Mauldin was an enlisted man just like the soldiers he drew for; his gripes were their gripes, his laughs were their laughs, his heartaches were their heartaches. He was one of them. They loved him . . .
. . . Mauldin is buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Last month, the kid cartoonist made it onto a first-class postage stamp. It's an honor that most generals and admirals never receive . . .
Nice to see some decisions coming from Washington are good ones for a change.
ReplyDeleteThe last Mauldin cartoon I saw was on the death of Stalin. Mauldin's cartoon was of the Grim Reaper with his arm around Stalin's shoulder with them both looking into the looking into the sunset and the Reaper saying, "You've been a good friend, Joseph." My second best Mauldin would have to be from any from page 1 to page 383 to the book "Bill Mauldin's Army," which I'll never let get away from me.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Patton did not like his portrayal of the G.I.
ReplyDeleteMy Daddy,a WWII vet and career Air Force officer,got me an autographed copy of Up Front by Bill Mauldin. I had the pleasure of serving in the Corp during the Nam with Willie and Joe's sons. I would imagine their sons and daughters were somewhere in Kuwait and on the road to Bagdad.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is great that you honor him for the great that he did.
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