The Soldier’s Humour – 1915 & 2010

The Aged P.com ^ | 26/09/11 | The Aged P

[sussex]

Throughout history I would guess the soldier’s response to the dark terror of war has been a sense of humour, often even in the grimmest of situations. One of the most famous cartoons ever drawn was created by Bruce Bairnsfather, a British artist who fought in the trenches on the Western Front. As an antidote to the “patriotic” sketches made by the staff artists in the London magazines, who had no experience of war, Bairnsfather’s observations of everyday life in the trenches became very popular with the soldiers themselves and this one, with it’s grim humour became the stuff of legend.

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

[Stonewall Jackson]

During WW2, the GI's had the antics of Bill Mauldin's Willie and Joe to help display some of the grim combat humor of the War in Europe.

[Oatka]

Someone said that a classic cartoon need no words:

I knew a lot of GIs who would agree with this one:

At the front:

Bill Maudlin died of respiratory failure at a nursing home in Newport Beach, California, on 22nd January, 2003.
R.I.P. good comrade.

[G Larry]

BUMP

[Little Ray]

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/

http://www.pvtmurphy.com/index.htm

http://jennyspouse.com/

http://www.military-quotes.com/military-cartoons.htm

[Tijeras_Slim]

Mauldin was a long time resident of New Mexico. A bronze sculpture of the cartoon about the Jeep is at the NM Veterans Memorial.

[Titan Magroyne]

bmfl

[Stonewall Jackson]

This cartoon was drawn by Bill Mauldin following the assassination of President Kennedy.

Charles Schultz was a longtime friend of Mauldin; for Veteran's Day 1988, they collaborated for this cartoon.