Bill, Willie and Joe at War

During World War II, American editorial cartoonist Bill Mauldin was renowned for his uncanny ability to capture the hardships and misery of the American foot soldier through his cartoons. No other wartime artist or cartoonist was able to capture the hardship and misery of the American foot soldier, or infantryman like Bill Mauldin.Serving with the US Army's 45th Infantry Division newspaper from 1940 through February 1944, and then with Stars and Stripes until September 1945, Mauldin lived the day-to-day rigors of European combat, which contributed significantly to his exceptional talent for transferring the experience to cartooning.

Despite the combat environment, Mauldin's dedication to his cartooning did not falter. With his skillful rendering of machine guns, M-1 rifles, halftracks, and other equipment, he drew accurate but not "cartooned" depictions that conveyed the bitterness behind the humor of the content. The balance of good writing and drawing was his hallmark, as pointed out by Charles Schulz in the introduction of the 50th anniversary edition of Up Front: The Classic Portrait in Text and Drawings of the American Combat Soldier.

Mauldin's creative journey began when he enlisted in Company D, 120th Quartermaster Regiment, of the Arizona National Guard in 1940, just before his unit, the 45th Infantry Division, was federalized. In the 45th, Mauldin worked as a volunteer artist for the unit's newspaper, drawing cartoons about regular soldiers or "dogfaces." By creating two cartoon infantrymen, Willie and Joe, who represented the average American GI, he reached the pinnacle of his fame.

While in Europe, Mauldin became a sergeant with the 45th Infantry Division's press corps, and his cartoon work continued as the division invaded Sicily and later fought in the Italian campaign. His cartoons famously appeared in Stars and Stripes, the American soldiers' newspaper, as well as in the 45th Division News. By 1944, he was officially transferred to Stars and Stripes, and given his own jeep, in which he roamed the front, collecting material for the publication of six cartoons a week. His cartoons became wildly famous, viewed by soldiers throughout Europe during WWII and published in the United States. The War Office supported their syndication, not only because they helped publicize the ground forces but also to show the grim side of war, which served to demonstrate that victory would not be easy. Mauldin also befriended Gregor Duncan, a fellow soldier-cartoonist, and was assigned to escort him for a while.

In recognition of his contribution to journalism, Mauldin received the Legion of Merit for his cartoons at the end of the war. He even wanted Willie and Joe to be killed on the last day of combat, but Stars and Stripes persuaded him otherwise.

Sergeant Mauldin and General Patton

However, not everyone was a fan of Mauldin's cartoons. Some officers took offense at his irreverent humor, which often parodied the Army's spit-shine and obedience-to-orders-without-question policy. After one of Mauldin's cartoons ridiculed Third Army commander General George Patton's decree that all soldiers be clean-shaven at all times, even in combat, Patton called Mauldin an "unpatriotic anarchist" and threatened to "throw [his] ass in jail" while simultaneously banning Stars and Stripes from his command. Nevertheless, Mauldin's goodwill with the common soldier remained steadfast, and many soldiers considered him a hero who helped them cope with the rigors of war.

In the Library of Congress' tribute to Bll Mauldin, they noted that Mauldin had the opportunity to meet and speak with U.S. Army General Patton, who was not fond of the cartoonist's portrayal of America's everyday infantrymen in Europe "Now then, sergeant, about those pictures you draw of those god-awful things you call soldiers. Where did you ever see soldiers like that? You know goddamn well you're not drawing an accurate representation of the American soldier. You make them look like goddamn bums." (Library of Congress, website accessed 10 July 2022) Leaving the office, he told his friend Will Lang ""I said Patton had received me courteously, had expressed his feelings about my work, and had given me the opportunity to say a few words myself. I didn't think I had convinced him of anything, and I didn't think he had changed my mind much, either." (Library of Congress, Ibid.)

Two WWII Veterans and Cartoonists

In the 50th Anniversary edition of Up Front: The Classic Portrait in Text and Drawings of the American Combat Soldier, by Bill Mauldin, Charles Schulz speaks to Mauldin's talents in the book's Introduction "I have always had double admiration for Bill's work because I not only spent three years in the infantry but, at the time, I had a fanatical ambition to be a cartoonist... The best cartoons are a combination of good writing and good drawing. If you look closely, you will see that Bill always rendered machine guns, M-1 rifles, halftracks, etc., with accuracy. The important point here is that they were not "cartooned." To do so would have destroyed the balance of the material, cheapened the idea, and destroyed the bitterness behind the humor." (Mauldin, 1991, vi-vii)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

DePastino, Todd, editor. Willie & Joe: The WWII Years Bill Mauldin. Seattle: Fantagraphics Books, 2008.

Mauldin, Bill. Up Front: The Classic Portrait in Text and Drawings of the American Combat Soldier - Fiftieth Anniversary Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1991.

Multimedia: Video, Web, and Photo
Library of Congress: Mauldin at War: 1943-1945  |  Stars & Stripes Bill Mauldin page |  Video: Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front