Bill Mauldin - Wartime Cartoonist

I've just discovered for myself the work of Bill Mauldin. Mauldin served with the US 45th Infantry Division and saw action in Sicily and throughout the Italian Campaign. His cartoons - and in particular his characters Willie & Joe - first appeared in the units newspaper and later in Stars & Stripes.

"Able Fox Five to Able Fox. I got a target but ya gotta be patient."

Mauldin's cartoons often irritated his senior commanders, including General Pattern who accused him of "spreading dissent". But his work was universally popular amongst the fighting men of the US army and after the war his work was recognised with a Pulitzer Prize.

What I like about the Willie & Joe cartoons is the gritty realism that shows through the often black humour. Mauldin was a combat soldier himself - he was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received at Anzio - and his experiences show clearly in his work.