The chaplain listed war heroes and leaders buried at Arlington, then spoke of “the man we honor today, loved by the ‘greatest generation,’ a man who led hearts and warmed smiles” with his distinct talents.įenton mentioned one of the thousands of letters Mauldin received while in the nursing home, relaying that the soldier said Mauldin’s “humor kept them moving forward, even in the face of adversity.”Īnd with the Pentagon behind them in the distance, seven soldiers from the 3rd U.S. He was 81.īut it was his life that was remembered by Chaplain (Major) Douglas Fenton and about 50 mourners, mostly family, that gathered in a cold drizzle to pay their respects. Mauldin died at a California nursing home on January 23, 2003, after a long bout with Alzheimer’s. WASHINGTON - Under skies as bleak as the battered Europe he once drew, former Stars and Stripes cartoonist Bill Mauldin was laid to rest Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery. Pacific edition, Friday, January 31, 2003 Thursday, JanuCartoonist Mauldin is laid to rest at Arlington Americans should give a similar toast to remember Mauldin and what he meant to a generation of soldiers. But it was because of Willie and Joe that he was remembered so fondly.Īlmost every Veterans Day, the late Charles Schulz would honor Mauldin by having Snoopy, as the World War I flying ace, toast the cartoonist with a mug of root beer. It showed a grieving Abraham Lincoln, his hands covering his face, at the Lincoln Memorial.

Many Americans remember Mauldin's cartoon in the Chicago Sun-Times, published after President Kennedy's assassination. What endeared Mauldin to the soldiers is that he was one of them, spending most of his time with the 45th Division. From 1940 to 1945, the unshaven, slump-shouldered soldiers mucked their way through Europe, surviving the enemy and the elements while mocking everything from their orders to their equipment. Published in Stars and Stripes and other military newspapers, they kept his fellow soldiers entertained and turned Mauldin into an icon. Mauldin made Willie and Joe the voice of the World War II infantryman. While Mauldin's entire body of work is impressive, it's his earliest work - the drawings of GIs Willie and Joe - that earned him the highest praise. Another significant part of the World War II generation is gone now that Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Bill Mauldin is dead at the age of 81.

Up front by bill mauldin 1945