Bill Mauldin's Legacy with Jim Lange Editorial Cartoon in Honor of Mauldin

The Daily Oklahoman ^ | 23 January 2003 | Oklahoman Editorial Page Editor

[PhiKapMom]

Bill Mauldin's Legacy

2003-01-24

MANY of the nation's major newspapers marked the death of Bill Mauldin on their front pages yesterday, for good reason. He was a giant of a journalist, whose cartoons depicted the travails of the men in uniform of World War II who saved the world from fascism.

A half-century later the work of two wartime correspondents still resonates with Americans who remember that time. One was the great Ernie Pyle, whose words from the frontlines brought a faraway war home to America. The other was Bill Mauldin.

Mauldin started with Oklahoma's 45th Infantry Division. Sent to Italy in 1943, his work appeared not only in the 45th Division News, but the more widely read Stars and Stripes, and that's where his legend grew.

Barely in his 20s, Sgt. Mauldin drew cartoons of the GIs in the trenches, as seen through the eyes of his characters Willie and Joe. "His maturity came simply from a native understanding of things, and from being a soldier himself for a long time," Pyle said of Mauldin's cartoons.

Pyle was killed near war's end, but Mauldin made it home. He worked later as an editorial cartoonist for papers in St. Louis and Chicago, and wrote and illustrated a dozen books.

We think Mauldin's legacy was best described yesterday by Mike Anton of the Los Angeles Times. "To millions of veterans, Mauldin was simply one of them," Anton wrote. "A soldier, but one who fought World War II with a pen instead of a rifle."

[PhiKapMom]

Jim Lange Editorial Cartoons

[PhiKapMom]

Thought you would enjoy this!

[PhiKapMom]

Thought you would enjoy this tribute to a WWII legend!

[hoosiermama]

Good post, thanks!

[Fiddlstix]

Thank you for posting this
A beautiful tribute
Rest In Peace, Bill
(Ya Done Good)

[PhiKapMom]

I can remember how much my Dad who was in WWII loved his work and thought this tribute when I read it this morning should be shared with Freepers!

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks for your comments!

[Crowcreek]

Bill Mauldin's cartoons have warmed a lot of hearts over the years -- God bless him.

[ex-snook]

Good one. Thanks.

[Alex Murphy]

I've long appreciated Bill's work, and that tribute cartoon was an excellent endcap to his work. Thanks for posting this.

[VOA]

What I learned with the memorial articles is that Mauldin pinned the famous sketch/cartoon
of a distraught Lincoln (seated in the Lincoln Memorial chair) in response to JFK's assassination.

Some folks have reminded us that Mauldin veered a bit left-of-center on a number of
issues after WWII...but at least he earned his right to be wrong on some issues
(not like our softies in Hollyweird and today's media).

I can't remember the title, but I did read his book that was a general odyssey of training
and his time in the European Theater during WWII.

I got a chuckle out of his observations on the "education gap" for some of his
fellow soldiers...such as the college-educated Native Americans who often quoted Shakespeare,
in contrast to the poor "redneck" rural whites in the ranks.

[ex-snook]

One of Bill's
--------

"Th' hell with it, sir. Let's go back to the front."

[bandleader]

General Patton(apparently)got a little"bent out of shape"with Mauldin and had him come to his HQ for a discussion.Mauldin wrote a recollection of this"Audience"some years back.He did NOT like Patton at all!!I'm afraid that the feeling was mutual!!!!

[LiteKeeper]

Grateful bump!

[PhiKapMom]

That's funny -- have met some of those red-necked whites!

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks for the cartoon -- that was great!

[PhiKapMom]

Jim Lange does a great job with his editorial cartoons in our paper! Thought this was one of his best!

[deport]

Bill Mauldin
(click name for more info)

[SAMWolf]

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

[PhiKapMom]

Thanks much!