The Genius of Bill Mauldin (WWII Cartoons)

Blog Site of a friend ^

[far sider]

Old Soldiers Never Die, They Just Fade Away

His work speaks for itself.

http://ww2.pstripes.osd.mil/02/nov02/mauldin/index.html

Raise a glass for Bill Mauldin. May his works never fade away.

"Why th' hell couldn't you have been born a beautiful woman?"

"This is th' town my pappy told me about."

[Tijeras_Slim]

I've always loved that second one.... :-D

[EggsAckley]

Thanks for posting this. Even though I was born a few months after the war ended, I clearly remember Mauldin. I think my Dad had a book of Mauldin's cartoons. I've always loved them.

[Wilum]

My Dad Met him while he was touring Itlay with the 45th Division. Dad thought very highly of him because of the truthfulness of his cartoons.

[Guillermo]

Patton actually tried to get him censored, which of course would have been idiotic to do...

Allied troops were never told not to listen to Axis Sally, Lord Haw Haw and other propagandists for a reason.

[Glock22]

As an M1 fan, I've always loved the one where Willie (or is it Joe?) is turning his rifle back in to the armorer at the end of the war. He hand it over and says "Please try to give her a good home!"

[lds23]

First, Hirschfield. Now, Mauldin. Who will be the third?

[VOA]

Allied troops were never told not to listen to Axis Sally, Lord Haw Haw and
other propagandists for a reason.

Whenever I hear a load of Bravo Sierra being shipped
by some of the mainstream media, I think about Axis Sally, Lord Haw Haw and Tokyo Rose!

Just because it's a domestic source doesn't mean it's not propaganda (and NOT news!).

[Guillermo]

I haven't had the pleasure to see many of his WWII era cartoons, but would like to.

I'm certain he was good for morale, as was the Stars and Stripes, which was relatively uncensored.

[VOA]

"Please try to give her a good home!"

Just think...today's "Bill Mauldin" would probably have the editors at
Stars And Stripes tell him that he couldn't refer to an M-16 being turned in as "her"...

Amazing how political correctness is more powerful than the control the Commies had at
Pravda and Isvestia...

[pt17]

Thank you for the post. For people of my generation, Bill's cartoons were one of the windows into the world where our fathers were.

[VOA]

I haven't had the pleasure to see many of his WWII era cartoons, but would like to.

Thanks for the link to the site with all the Mauldin cartoons.

I only got about half-way through them (for now), but was really touched
the "The Prince And The Pauper"...one of Mauldin's grubby grunts encountering
the little (and surely hungry) little girl.
I'm sure more than a few GIs (if they hadn't already) at least momentarily stopped
griping about their rations and cold coffee in those situations...

Just another great example of how Mauldin put things in perspective for the grunts,
as well as allowing for laughs and pressure-release...

[jlogajan]

I think my Dad had a book of Mauldin's cartoons.

Mine too. Brown cover. It kinda got a little tore up by us kids, but I think my brother still has it somewhere.

[wbill]

It might be worth your looking at "Up Front". It's an excellent read. Contains his cartoons, and some of his memoirs from the war.

[far sider]

Thanks for the link to the site with all the Mauldin cartoons. You're welcome. Each one tells such a story.

[Britton J Wingfield]

The copy of "Up Front" that I inherited has a brown cover. Probably the same book.

[AnAmericanMother]

A funny one:

"Nein, nein - go ahead! I vould not think of interfering."

The Kraut dogface probably felt pretty much the same about most of his officers as Willie & Joe did.

[VOA]

Mauldin's WWII cartoons work so well beyond their time and place...
they are a balm for anyone who's had to do an ugly job and often be held to
blame for either things they didn't do...or just for being honest.

[AnAmericanMother]

Mauldin's WWII cartoons work so well beyond their time and place...

That's because they're "true" in the sense of universal truth. And you hit the nail on the head re having to do the dirty work and taking the blame. The quintessence of the 'citizen soldier' - he's not a glory hound or a fire eater, he just wants to do the job that has to be done and go home.

Have you read his "Back Home"? I used to give it to my Vietnam Vet friends to show them that they weren't alone. Too many WWII vets got less-than-honorable treatment upon their return, and Mauldin uses Willie & Joe, back in civilian life, to highlight their difficulties. It's not as well known as "Up Front" but it's a good read.

I think somebody ought to draw a cartoon of Willie and Joe with halos (the cartoonist would have to clean them up somehow without losing their essence), one peering over the edge of a cloud, the other looking behind him and calling, "Pass the Word, it's Sgt. Bill."

[VOA]

...somebody ought to draw a cartoon of Willie and Joe with halos (the cartoonist
would have to clean them up somehow without losing their essence), one peering
over the edge of a cloud, the other looking behind him and calling,
"Pass the Word, it's Sgt. Bill."

As much as I like that...all it would take is some captions over some crosses at
one of our National (veterans) Cemetaries...

And I think it was "The Brass Ring" that I read...many years ago...