Willie and Joe tells us about being a GI in WWII

[Hollis]

I know this is comic but it is history too. I think for some of us, we learned alot about WWII from Bill Maudin. I gleamed this from another site. A great read and chuckle and some knowledge of the life of a GI in WWII.
http://www.stripes.com/02/nov02/mauldin/

[ronnieraygun]

I know this is comic but it is history too. I think for some of us, we learned alot about WWII from Bill Maudin. I gleamed this from another site. A great read and chuckle and some knowledge of the life of a GI in WWII.
http://www.stripes.com/02/nov02/mauldin/

I sell rare books on the side and have a decent collection for myself. I have a few Bill Mauldin items "Up Front" or something like that and also an Ernie Pyle book "Here is Your War." He really had some great stuff. Also, check out "Sad Sack" from Sgt. George Baker for those of you who have not seen it.

[JJB1970]

Thanks for the link. Another one to check out (if you haven't before) is YANK Magazine. The letters from the readers sections are also quite instructive. Plus, their covers are classic. Their final edition cover is hilarious. All I could find on the interwebs so far was this:

http://yankmagazine.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

[panzrman]

Oh hell yeah. I love Mauldin and his work. I have a nice copy of "Up Front" myself.

We even decorated our CP with alot of his work waaaay back in the day. My back still aches thinking of all the hours we put into them. Kinda hard to see in this scan of an old polaroid from late '85 or early '86, but I think you can get the gist. Will have to dig up some better ones and scan them.

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii182/BraveRifles85/eating.jpg

[Templar@Large]

Man I used to love Willie & Joe , Wish I could get my hands on them again ....Talk about laughing !

[p51]

There are some good new books out this spring on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Willie-Joe-Years-Bill-Mauldin/dp/1560978384/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207260316&sr=8-2 (http://www.amazon.com/Willie-Joe-Years-Bill-Mauldin/dp/1560978384/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207260316&sr=8-2) I got an advanced copy of the biography on him that also came out recently, written by the editor of the books in the above link: http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Mauldin-Life-Up-Front/dp/0393061833/ref=sr_1_1/102-6222724-8230509?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194411833&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Mauldin-Life-Up-Front/dp/0393061833/ref=sr_1_1/102-6222724-8230509?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194411833&sr=8-1) I found out about this last fall and contacted the author for more info. Turns out, he said my name kept popping up during his research but he'd never contacted me (crying shame, he said, as I had a few never before published photos of Mauldin he would have loved to use) as he thought he'd had all the info he needed. He wanted me to read his book to see what I thought. Yeah, it's a tough job, so I reluctantly agreed... ;)
The author had an unheard of access to the Mauldin collection and materials as well as almost everyone who ever knew the man. I've also been tasked to write a review of the book for more than a couple of magazines. I was very impressed with it, but I must warn folks that it does NOT paint a flattering portrait of the man. Frankly, Mauldin wasn't exactly a likeable guy 100% of the time, according to most of the people who knew him.
My substantial collection of Mauldin's work came out of a LOT of searching and money over a very long time and has more than once been mistaken for a large donation from the Mauldin estate from the times I've shown it at public events. I wrote a article on the works of Mauldin. PM me if you want to know where to look for it as it's not on a public web site. If you have ever seen the "Mail Call" episode on the History Channel about Bill Mauldin, I'm the guy they brought down for the show, talking about the man and his work. I have one of the best Mauldin collections in the country in private hands, having every one of his books (all first editions), several original sketches and drawings, even one of his High School yearbooks! I've written quite a bit on his life and works and have interviewed several people who worked with through the years. I also belong to the "Friends of Willie and Joe" which is the only WW2 living history group ever endorsed by Bill Mauldin.
A few years ago, our group re-created a classic Maudlin cartoon in photo:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/willysmb44/WnJ2a.jpg
The neat thing is that this is a father and his two sons. That's my 1919 in the background, though.
Here is the original cartoon:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/willysmb44/09.jpg

[Hollis]

A few years ago, our group re-created a classic Maudlin cartoon in photo:

The neat thing is that this is a father and his two sons. That's my 1919 in the background, though.
Here is the original cartoon:



That is really a neat photo, thank you for sharing, I have a 1919 too.