Bill Mauldin - a brief introduction

If you have never read/looked at the cartoons of Bill Mauldin your education is incomplete.

He was unique in that he actually was a soldier and actually fought before his basically free lance work brought him to the attention of Stars and Stripes.

His work got him into trouble from time to time but unlike 99% of today's war reporters and cartoonists he understood that winning was the only thing. He said this about Patton:

"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 understood that Patton's way was to train and train and train and then fight as hard as possible using every advantage you have. Think about Vietnam and our battles in Iraq and Afghanistan and how we have lost more and more men and women because we have been "proportional" in our response.

To hell with that. And if you think I am wrong, look where we are at.

But Mauldin's real talent was writing a thousand words with one picture. This one I first saw at about age 14 and it took me a few days to figure out what he was saying.

He understood men. He understood men and war. He never saw it as pretty but he always understood the human side.



Check Amazon for his books.


Link

Link to more Mauldin.