The United States Postal Service (USPS) has launched a new stamp. It is dedicated to William Henry "Bill" Mauldin, one of America’s favorite cartoonists. The Bill Mauldin stamp goes on sale in March.
Check this video for more details about Bill Maudlin, his life and work.
Bill Mauldin (October 29, 1921 – January 22, 2003) was a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist from the United States. He was most famous for his World War II cartoons depicting American soldiers, as represented by the archetypal characters Willie and Joe, two weary and bedraggled infantry troopers who stoically endure the difficulties and dangers of duty in the field. These cartoons were broadly published and distributed in the American army abroad and in the United States.While in the 45th Infantry Division, Mauldin volunteered to work for the unit's newspaper, drawing cartoons about regular soldiers or "dogfaces". Eventually he created two cartoon infantrymen, Willie (who was modeled after his fellow comrade and friend Irving Richtel) and Joe, who became synonymous with the average American GI. His cartoon work continued as he fought in the July 1943 invasion of Sicily and the Italian campaign. Mauldin began working for Stars and Stripes, the American soldiers' newspaper; by March 1944 he was given his own jeep by which he roved the front, collecting material and producing 6 cartoons a week.[1] His cartoons were viewed by soldiers all over Europe during World War II, and also published in the United States. Willie was on the cover of Time Magazine in 1945, and Mauldin himself made the cover in 1958.
Those officers who were raised in the army during peacetime were generally offended by Mauldin, who parodied the spit-shine and obedience-to-order-without-question view that was more easily maintained during that time of peace. General George Patton once summoned Mauldin to his office and threatened to "throw his ass in jail" for "spreading dissent," this after one of Mauldin's cartoons made fun of Patton's demand that all soldiers must be clean-shaven at all times, even in combat. But Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander, told Patton to leave Mauldin alone, because he felt that Mauldin's cartoons gave the soldiers an outlet for their frustrations. Mauldin told an interviewer later, "I always admired Patton. Oh, sure, the stupid bastard was crazy. He was insane. He thought he was living in the Dark Ages. Soldiers were peasants to him. I didn't like that attitude, but I certainly respected his theories and the techniques he used to get his men out of their foxholes."[2]Mauldin's cartoons made him a hero to the common soldier. GIs often credited him with helping them to get through the rigors of the war. Mauldin himself served on the front lines, landing at Anzio, and receiving a Purple Heart after being wounded by an artillery shell fragment. He attained the rank of sergeant and was awarded the Army's Legion of Merit for his cartoons.
(Source: USPS News Release at http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2009/pr09_118.htm#bill and Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Mauldin)
