

The combat man isn't the same clean-cut lad because you don't fight a kraut by Marquis of Queensberry rules. Some say the American soldier is the same clean-cut young man who left his home others say morale is sky-high at the front because everybody's face is shining for the great Cause. "Many celebrities and self-appointed authorities have returned from quick tours of war zones (some of them getting within hearing distance of the shooting) and have put out their personal theories to batteries of photographers and reporters. His words provide insight into the motivation and challenges of the front line soldier, not only in World War II, but in all conflicts. In 1945 Mauldin published a book in which he described the qualities of the combat soldier. This admonishment had little effect on Maudlin who continued to draw his subjects as before. He was once chewed out by General George Patton and ordered to cease drawing his soldiers in what the general considered an "unsoldierly" appearance. However, his cartoons occasionally drew the wrath of his superior officers. His "no holds barred" characterizations of everyday life on the front line were an immediate hit with the solders he depicted. Once he was overseas, his cartoons appeared in the Army's Stars and Stripes newspaper as well as numerous newspapers back home in the states. Mauldin began drawing cartoons depicting Army life for his Division's newspaper. Mauldin became part of the 45th Division that saw action in Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. He joined the Army in 1940 at the age of eighteen. Mauldin's artistic talent and fondness for cartoons developed early in his life, but the tough times of the Depression didn't provide any avenue for him to apply his talent. The majority of these front-line fighters were citizen-soldiers longing to return home to the normality of their former lives.

His Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoon characters "Willie and Joe" humorously depicted the everyday trials, tribulations and triumphs of the American combat soldier. The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis, 1945īill Mauldin was the most famous cartoonist of World War II.

Normandy Invasion, 1944: A Civilian's View Attack At Pearl Harbor - the Japanese ViewĪttack At Pearl Harbor - The White House Reacts
