Cartoonist. Most remembered for his World War II cartoon soldiers "Willie and Joe", who came to represent the American "GI" in that war, he was awarded multiple Pulitzer Prizes for his work. Born and raised in Mountain Park, near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, he developed his art talent in high school, and attended the Academy of Fine Art in Chicago, Illinois. In 1940, he enlisted in the United States Army, and started drawing cartoons for the 45th Infantry Division's newspaper. This brought him to the attention of "The Stars and Stripes", a United States military service-wide newspaper, and he joined the staff there, continuing his drawing. Promoted to Sergeant, he was given wide latitude in getting his material, which brought him criticism from such high-ranking officers as General George S. Patton. However, he would continue his work without compromise with the backing of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who considered "Stars and Stripes" the "soldier's newspaper" and it helped with the soldiers' morale. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1945 with his series "Up Front with Mauldin." After the war, he free-lanced for a time, and then joined the St. Louis, Missouri "Post-Dispatch" newspaper in 1958. He was awarded his second Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1959 for cartoon depicting Soviet Union writer Boris Pasternak as a Soviet prisoner asking another Gulag prisoner "I won the Nobel Prize for literature; what was your crime?" In 1962 he joined the Chicago, Illinois "Sun-Times" Newspaper, and remained there until his retirement in 1981. Among his principal books of cartoons are "Up Front" (1945), "A Sort of a Saga" (1949), "Bill Mauldin in Korea" (1952), and "The Brass Ring" (1971). Mauldin also appeared in the movie "The Red Badge of Courage" (1951), which starred World War II Medal of Honor Recipient Audie Murphy. In his later years, he battled Alzheimer's Disease, suffering severely from its debilitating effects.
Cartoonist. Most remembered for his World War II cartoon soldiers "Willie and Joe", who came to represent the American "GI" in that war, he was awarded multiple Pulitzer Prizes for his work. Born and raised in Mountain Park, near Cloudcroft, New Mexico, he developed his art talent in high school, and attended the Academy of Fine Art in Chicago, Illinois. In 1940, he enlisted in the United States Army, and started drawing cartoons for the 45th Infantry Division's newspaper. This brought him to the attention of "The Stars and Stripes", a United States military service-wide newspaper, and he joined the staff there, continuing his drawing. Promoted to Sergeant, he was given wide latitude in getting his material, which brought him criticism from such high-ranking officers as General George S. Patton. However, he would continue his work without compromise with the backing of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who considered "Stars and Stripes" the "soldier's newspaper" and it helped with the soldiers' morale. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1945 with his series "Up Front with Mauldin." After the war, he free-lanced for a time, and then joined the St. Louis, Missouri "Post-Dispatch" newspaper in 1958. He was awarded his second Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1959 for cartoon depicting Soviet Union writer Boris Pasternak as a Soviet prisoner asking another Gulag prisoner "I won the Nobel Prize for literature; what was your crime?" In 1962 he joined the Chicago, Illinois "Sun-Times" Newspaper, and remained there until his retirement in 1981. Among his principal books of cartoons are "Up Front" (1945), "A Sort of a Saga" (1949), "Bill Mauldin in Korea" (1952), and "The Brass Ring" (1971). Mauldin also appeared in the movie "The Red Badge of Courage" (1951), which starred World War II Medal of Honor Recipient Audie Murphy. In his later years, he battled Alzheimer's Disease, suffering severely from its debilitating effects.
Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson
Inscription
WILLIAM H MAULDIN
TEC3 US ARMY WWII
OCT 29 1921
JAN 22 2003
LM PH
CARTOONIST
WILLIE & JOE
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