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Posted on 10/24/2003 3:53:18 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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 Sergeant, United States Army and Cartoonist Many people have described their wartime experiences in letters home. But very few have chronicled war for the people doing the fighting. Bill Mauldin, World War II's most famous cartoonist, is one of them.  "Radio th' ol' man we'll be late on account of a thousand-mile detour." William Henry Mauldin was born October 29, 1921 in Mountain Park, New Mexico. Though he did not graduate from high school, he took a correspondence course in cartooning, and later attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In 1940, just five days before the National Guard was federalized, Bill Mauldin enlisted in the Arizona National Guard. This is truly where his career as the world knows it began. While serving in Oklahoma Mauldin began doing drawings for the Oklahoma City newspaper, and the 45th Division News. Sergeant Bill Mauldin, K Company, 180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division was with the division when it shipped out for combat duty in the European Theater of Operations in 1943, when he was 21. Upon his arrival in Sicily, he joined the Stars & Stripes, while still drawing for the 45th Division News.  "So I told Company K they'd just have to work out their replacement problem for themselves." After Ernie Pyle, America's most popular journalist in the Second World War, wrote an article about the work of Mauldin, he was picked up by United Feature Syndicate in 1944 and his cartoons began appearing in newspapers all over the United States. He later recalled that: "I drew pictures for and about the soldiers because I knew what their life was like and understood their gripes. I wanted to make something out of the humorous situations which come up even when you don't think life could be any more miserable."  Mauldin earned a Purple Heart at Cassino. He did not spend all of his time cartooning and working for the 45th Division News during the war. He made sure he spent time with K Company, his fellow infantrymen. In fact, around Christmas 1943, while sketching at the front, a small fragment from a German mortar hit his shoulders, as he noted in The Brass Ring, "My only damage was a ringing in my ears and a fragment in my shoulder. It burned like a fury but was very small. The wound hardly bled." When Mauldin received the Purple Heart for his injury he protested that he had "been cut worse sneaking through barbed-wire fences in New Mexico," the aid told him to take the medal, which might get him discharged earlier at the end of the war.  "Nonsense. S-2 reported that machine gun silenced hours ago. Stop wiggling your fingers at me." Willie and Joe, Mauldin's now famous cartoon characters, were two combat hardened dogfaces. These were muddy and exhausted, but their spirit was never broken. They hated every second of sitting in rain filled foxholes, trudging through hills and valleys loaded down with rifle and pack, and facing enemy fire, but they never gave up.  "Able Fox Five to Able Fox. I got a target but ya gotta be patient." Mauldin's characters were the average GI. He depicted their boredom, rebellion against bad food, lousy living conditions, and clueless officers. Willie and Joe came to be loved by the lower ranks, and by their families back home. In his classic book "Up Front," Mauldin wrote that the expressions on Joe and Willie are "those of infantry soldiers who have been in the war for a couple of years. If he is looking very weary and resigned to the fact that he is probably going to die before it is over, and if he has a deep, almost hopeless desire to go home and forget it all; if he looks with dull, uncomprehending eyes at the fresh-faced kid who is talking about all the joys of battle and killing Germans, then he comes from the same infantry as Joe and Willie."  Mauldin draws Pvt. Robert L. Bowman in May 1944. A notable exception to the American love of Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe was General George Patton. In 1945 he wrote a letter to the Stars & Stripes threatening to ban the newspaper from Third Army if it did not stop carrying "Mauldin's scurrilous attempts to undermine military discipline."  "Awright, awright — it's a general! Ya wanna pass in review?" General Dwight Eisenhower did not agree and was concerned that any attempt at censorship would undermine morale. In hopes of reconciling the differences he set up a meeting between Mauldin and Patton. Mauldin went to see Patton in March 1945. He had to endure a lengthy lecture on the dangers of producing "anti-officer cartoons". Mauldin's response was the rightful argument that the soldiers had legitimate grievances that needed to be addressed.  Bill Maudlin wrote about his meeting with General George Patton in his book, The Brass Ring (1971) There he sat, big as life even at that distance. His hair was silver, his face was pink, his collar and shoulders glittered with more stars than I could count, his fingers sparkled with rings, and an incredible mass of ribbons started around desktop level and spread upward in a flood over his chest to the very top of his shoulder, as if preparing to march down his back too. His face was rugged, with an odd, strangely shapeless outline; his eyes were pale, almost colorless, with a choleric bulge. His small, compressed mouth was sharply downturned at the comers, with a lower lip which suggested a pouting child as much as a no-nonsense martinet. It was a welcome, rather human touch. Beside him, lying in a big chair, was Willie, the bull terrier. If ever dog was suited to master this one was. Willie had his beloved boss's expression and lacked only the ribbons and stars. I stood in that door staring into the four meanest eyes I'd ever seen. Patton demanded: "What are you trying to do, incite a goddamn mutiny?" Patton then launched into a lengthy dissertation about armies and leaders of the past, of rank and its importance. Patton was a master of his subject felt truly privileged, as if I were hearing Michelangelo on painting. I had been too long enchanted by the army myself to be anything but impressed by this magnificent old performer's monologue. Just as when I had first saluted him, I felt whatever martial spirit was left in me being lifted out and fanned into flame. If you're a leader, you don't push wet spaghetti, you pull it. The U.S. Army still has to learn that. The British understand it. Patton understood it. I always admired Patton. Oh, sure, the stupid bastard was crazy. He was insane. He thought he was living in the Dark Ages. Soldiers were peasants to him. I didn't like that attitude, but I certainly respected his theories and the techniques he used to get his men out of their foxholes. Frederick S. Voss wrote about the meeting between Bill Maudlin and George Patton in his book, Reporting the War (1994) Pulling from a drawer some clipped samples of Mauldin's work, he asked their creator to justify their anti-officer tone. In doing so, Mauldin thought he acquitted himself fairly well. By making soldiers laugh at their grievances and letting them know that someone else understood them, he said in effect, he was helping them to let off steam in a relatively harmless way and thereby preventing the mutiny that Patton was so sure he was causing. Patton was clearly unconvinced. "You can't run an army like a mob," he declared when Mauldin was done, and after a handshake and a smart parting salute from Mauldin, the interview was over. Official recognition for his work came in 1945, when Mauldin was awarded his first Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. The award read, "For distinguished service as a cartoonist, as exemplified by the cartoon entitled, 'Fresh, spirited American troops, flushed with victory, are bringing in thousands of hungry, ragged, battle-weary prisoners,' in the series entitled, 'Up Front With Mauldin." Bill Mauldin was 23 years old at the time.  Fresh, spirited American troops, flushed with victory, are bringing in thousands of hungry, ragged, battle-weary prisoners. The first collection of cartoons "Up Front" was published in 1945 in book form, and later republished for it's 50th Anniversary in 1995. His first collection of postwar cartoons was entitled "Back Home" and was published in 1947. These cartoons focused on the plight of the GI upon returning to the States, and the political situations that abounded.  "He thinks the food over there was swell. He's glad to be home, but he misses the excitement of battle. You may quote him." Mr. Mauldin became a national phenomenon for awhile. He was on the cover of Time magazine, acted in two movies in 1951 -- "The Red Badge of Courage" and "Up Front". He wrote about the war in Korea for Collier's magazine, and unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic candidate for Congress from the state of New York. As a member of the United Feature Syndicate Mauldin's cartoons attacking racism, the Ku Klux Klan and McCarthyism appeared in newspapers all over the United States. Mauldin's cartoons were unpopular with the newspapers in small towns and he had difficulty getting them published. Disillusioned, Mauldin gave up cartooning.  He returned in 1958 and found a home with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1958. He proceeded to win his second Pulitzer prize the following year. In this prize winning cartoon, Mauldin was commenting on the plight of Soviet author Boris Pasternak. One prisoner in a Siberian camp says to another, "I won the Nobel Prize for literature. What was your crime?"  The year 1962 found Mauldin working for the Chicago Sun-Times. While there, one of his best-known cartoons was created. After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy this cartoon (showing Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial, with his hands covering his face) was published.  During his career Mauldin wrote and illustrated more than twelve books. This included Up Front (1945), Back Home (1947), Mud and Guts (1978), Hurray for B.C. (1979), Bill Mauldin's Army (1983) and Let's Declare Ourselves Winners and Get the Hell Out (1985). On Wednesday, January 22, 2003 Bill Mauldin died of complications from Alzheimer's disease, including pneumonia, at a Newport Beach nursing home, said Andy Mauldin, 54, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, one of the cartoonist's seven sons. "It's really good that he's not suffering anymore," he said. "He had a terrible struggle." He was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. Section 64, Grave 6974. Accordingly, he is now at rest among his beloved GI's. For many years on Veteran's Day, Charles Schulz, the "Peanuts" creator, had Snoopy dress in his old uniform and go over to Bill Mauldin's house to reminisce and quaff a few root beers. Symbolically, this was a tribute to all veterans, their sacrifice, their loss of innocence. Snoopy would become sentimental and sometimes end up in tears. It was also a tribute to Mauldin and his importance to the G. I.s of World War II. Schulz himself had been a machine gunner in Europe. Mauldin didn't romanticize war. His was a war of rain and mud, hunger and stupidity, arrogance and ignorance, and Willie and Joe did their best to just keep going.       |
My dad served in the same theater, thinks he met Bill once but didn't know him well. Dad now lives just a few miles from a buddy who went through basic with him at Fort Clark TX in 1942. When the call went out for WWII vets to send Mauldin messages because it was the only thing that got through to him in his debilitated state, dad and his buddy sent him some photos and a letter. Mauldin's son said that his dad seemed to come back to life when he read him letters from WWII dogfaces, and especially when they came to visit him in the hospital. A columnist for the Orange County paper organized the whole effort, and it was a Good Thing. It made Mauldin's last days a whole lot easier for him and for his family as well.
Some other faves:
"I can't get no lower, Willie. Me buttons is in th' way."
"Them rats! Them dirty, cold-blooded, sore-headed, stinkin' Huns! Them atrocity-committin' skunks ..."
"Now that you mention it, it does sound like th' patter of rain on a tin roof."
Today's classic warship, USS Georgia (BB-15)
Virginia class Battleship
displacement. 14,948 t.
length. 441'3"
beam. 76'3"
speed. 19 k.
complement. 812
armament. 4 12", 8 8", 12 6", 12 3", 4 21" tt.
USS Georgia was launched by the Bath Iron Works of Bath, Maine, 11 October 1904, sponsored by Miss Stella Tate, and commissioned at Boston Navy Yard 24 September 1906, Captain R. G. Davenport in command.
After Georgia was fitted out and completed a short shakedown cruise, she joined the Atlantic Fleet as flagship of Division 2, Squadron 1. Georgia departed Hampton Road's 26 March 1907 for Guantanamo Bag, Cuba, where she participated in gunnery practice with the fleet. After returning briefly to Boston Navy Yard for repairs, Georgia joined with other ships of the Atlantic Fleet in ceremonies opening the Jamestown Exposition. President Roosevelt and dignitaries present reviewed the fleet 10 June 1907, and 11 June was proclaimed "Georgia Day" at the exposition in special ceremonies aboard Georgia.
Georgia next sailed with the fleet for target practice in Cape Cod Bay, arriving 15 June. During these drills 15 July, a powder charge ignited prematurely in her aft 8" turret, killing 10 officers and men and injuring 11. Condolences for the loss from this tragic accident were received from all over the world.
The powerful battleship then participated in the tercentenary of the landing of the first English Colonists 16 to 21 August 1907, after which she rejoined the fleet for battle maneuvers before mooring at League Island, N.Y., 24 September, for overhaul. Arriving in Hampton Roads 7 December 1907, Georgia gathered with 15 other battleships, a torpedo boat squadron, and transports for the great naval review preceding the cruise of the Atlantic Fleet to the West Coast. On 16 December President Roosevelt reviewed the assembled "Great White Fleet" and sent it on the first leg of an around-the-world voyage of training, and building of American prestige and good will. Visiting many South American countries an their highly successful cruise, the fleet met with ships of the Pacific Fleet in another review in San Francisco Bay for the Secretary of the Navy 8 May 1908. Then Georgia, in company with other battleships and supply vessels, departed San Francisco 7 July 1908 for the second leg of the cruise, showing the flag and bringing the message of American sea power to many parts of the world, including the Philippine islands, Australia, Japan, and Mediterranean ports. The fleet returned to Hampton Roads 22 February 1909. Georgia was updated after this voyage, receiving many improvements, including "cage" masts in place of her original "military" models.
Georgia continued to serve with the Atlantic Fleet in exercises and battle maneuvers, with periods of overhaul interspersed, until 2 November 1910 when President Taft reviewed the fleet prior to its departure for France. In an elaborate battle and scouting problem, Georgia and the other battleships continued their training, visiting Weymouth, England, and returning to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 13 March 1911.
From 1911 to 1913, Georgia continued to train and serve as a ceremonial ship, and 5 June 1913 participated in a 2-month practice cruise for Naval Academy Midshipmen. After a long overhaul period in Boston Navy Yard, Georgia arrived off the coast of Mexico 14 January 1914 with other fleet units to protect American interests in the troubled Vera Cruz-Tampico area. The busy battleship returned briefly to Norfolk, Va., in March, but was soon back cruising Mexican waters, and from August to October 1914 cruised off Haiti for the protection of American civilians in that country.
After another period of overhaul, Georgia joined the fleet off Cuba 25 February 1915 for winter maneuvers, and spent the rest of the year in training and ceremonial duties with the Atlantic Fleet Battleship Force. She arrived at Boston Navy Yard for overhaul 20 December 1915 and decommissioned 27 January 1916.
Assigned as a receiving ship at Boston, Georgia was called to duty at the outbreak of World War 1, and commissioned again 6 April 1917. For the next 18 months, she operated with the 3d Division, Battleship Force, in fleet tactical exercises and merchant crew gunnery training, based in the York River, Va. She joined with Cruiser Force Atlantic briefly in September 1918 to escort convoys to meet their eastern escorts, and beginning 10 December 1918 was fitted out as a transport and attached to the Cruiser and Transport Force for the purpose of returning troops of the A.E.F. to the United States. Georgia made five voyages to France from December 1918 to June 1919 and brought home nearly 6,000 soldiers.
Georgia was next transferred to the Pacific Fleet as flagship of Division 2, Squadron 1. She left Boston for San Diego, via the Panama Canal, 16 July 1919, and after participating in ceremonial operations for 2 months, entered Mare Island Naval shipyard for repairs 20 September 1919. Here Georgia staged until decommissioning 15 July 1920. She was eventually sold for scrap 1 November 1923 in accordance with the Washington Treaty for the limitation of naval armaments, and her name was struck from the Navy List 10 November 1923.
"I'd rather dig. A movin' foxhole attracks th' eye." © Bill Mauldin 1945
"I'll let ya know if I find th' one wot invented th' 88." -Bill Mauldin
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