Bill Mauldin
William “Bill” Mauldin (1921-2003) born in Mountain Park, NM, overcame a rough childhood to pursue his ambition of becoming a professional cartoonist, attending the Chicago Academy of Fine Art before enlisting in 1940.
As a sergeant in the press corps of the 45th Infantry Division, he landed in Anzio in 1943 and soon was contributing to Stars and Stripes. The U.S. Army newspaper took him on full-time in 1944, assigning him a jeep and six cartoons a week. His popular “Willie & Joe” series, showing everyday life among the U.S. infantry with a dark but indefatigable humor, annoyed some commanding officers (notably Gen. Patton), but others (importantly, Gen. Eisenhower) thought it was good for morale. “Willie” appeared on the cover of Time magazine in June 1945.
One of Mauldin’s cartoons won a Pulitzer Prize in 1945, portraying frazzled foot soldiers slogging through rain, captioned, “Fresh, spirited American troops, flushed with victory, are bringing in thousands of hungry, ragged, battle-weary prisoners. (News Item)” The same year, his first book, Up Front, was a best-seller.
After the war, Mauldin worked as an editorial cartoonist for a time with United Feature Syndicate. But, on political topics, his edgy humor didn’t play well in Peoria. Unpopular with small-town newspapers, Mauldin turned away from cartooning and free-lanced as an illustrator. Soon after an unsuccessful run for Congress in 1956, he caught on with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He won another Pulitzer in 1959 for a cartoon showing Boris Pasternak, the author of Doctor Zhivago, toiling in a Soviet gulag, with the caption “I won a Nobel Prize for literature. What was your crime?”
Mauldin moved to the Chicago Sun-Times in 1962. One of his all-time most famous works, published on Nov. 23, 1963, the day after the Kennedy assassination, showed Lincoln slumped on his monument, face in hands.
Mauldin retired from the Sun-Times in 1991. Changing times, alcoholism, an accident that crippled his drawing hand, and, finally, Alzheimer’s disease, brought him to a bitter end in a nursing home, although a piece written by former coworker and newspaper columnist Bob Greene resulted in more than 10,000 cards, letters, presents, and fond remembrances sent.
Mauldin passed away on Jan. 22, 2003, and was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Bill Mauldin’s gritty and sardonic depictions of the American infantryman’s plight in World War II earned him the affection of enlisted men and the ire of Gen. George S. Patton, who threatened to have Mauldin jailed for insubordination. Above, Nate Jones’ 1/35 scale vignette depicts a cartoon frame in which Mauldin took a direct swipe at Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army, and his spit ’n’ polish regulations.
Nate beat up an Italeri Jeep, changed the rearview mirror position, hollowed out a spare tire, and articulated the front wheels. Stowage includes a scratchbuilt wire cutter, bucket, jerry-can bracket, and a stretched-sprue radio antenna. He added a Tamiya jerry can, canvas water bucket, and C-ration box. The tarps are facial tissue with a rear window of cellophane. Nate also modified the Tamiya and Italeri passengers to fit the scene. He built the Third Army sign using sprue sections, dressmaker pins, sheet styrene, and a paper printout from his home computer. The groundwork is covered with Woodland Scenics snow and mud made from drywall compound, painted and coated with Pledge Future floor polish.
Why I built Bill Mauldin’s Army
By Nate Jones
About 12 years ago, while looking through the Reader Gallery of an old FSM (March 1994, Page 65 to be precise), I found a picture of a diorama by Phillip Campbell based on a Bill Mauldin “Willie & Joe” cartoon (“1,000-mile detour”). I was motivated by that ingenious idea to build a diorama of a cartoon illustration. But, at the time, I never thought I would ever actually do it. Years later, after my skills had improved and my modeling interests had broadened and strayed slightly from aviation, I remembered that inspiration. I pulled my copy of Bill Mauldin’s Army: Bill Mauldin’s Greatest World War II Cartoons, by Bill Mauldin (Presidio, ISBN 978-0-89141-159-8) off the shelf and started thumbing through it.
I found “This must look awful suspicious!” the cartoon in which Willie and Joe are taking cover in the doorway of a demolished Italian bank. I used two 1/35 scale Tamiya figures, made a few minor conversions of their equipment and clothing, and entered my first “Willie & Joe” diorama in a competition. It won first place and a very positive response from other modelers. From there, my passion for 1/35 scale modeling — especially dioramas based on Mauldin’s work — really took off!
Mauldin really had a way of showing the life of the American soldier in WWII, and I wanted to offer my work as a tribute to him and those men who defended our freedom.
Meet Nate Jones
Nathanael “Nate” Jones hails from Branson, Mo., where he lives with his wife, Tammy, and works as a firefighter-EMT. He also serves in the U.S. Army Reserve as a captain of military police and, as he makes his debut in FineScale Modeler, is on active duty in Afghanistan.
Nate’s been building models since he was 6, “seriously modeling — for more than a play toy — since junior high,” he says.
“My dad actually built my first model,” Nate says. “I sat at the dining room table, watching and helping when I could, as he built the kit with tube glue. It was Monogram’s 1/48 scale F-4J Phantom II Showtime 100. I remember watching with eager anticipation as it slowly came together — I couldn’t wait to play with it! After that, I was hooked.”
A trip to Toys ’R’ Us netted a Revell Snap-Tite Space Shuttle. “I twisted the parts off the sprues and had it together by the time we got home!” he says.
He went on to build mostly 1/48 scale aircraft and the occasional 1/72 scale kit. His favorites were 1/48 scale B-17s by Revell and Monogram. “The B-17 is my favorite airplane of all time,” he says. “I have two complete with five more on the shelf and plans for another four more. I wanted to build a whole squadron from the 8th Air Force’s 91st BG and make a super-diorama, but I think I will just build the airplanes and someday — when I have room — display them.
“Since college I have been building 1/35 World War II figures, armor, and soft-skins — mostly making small dioramas or vignettes. My first venture in 1/35 scale was an ‘I think I might try this’ project starting with an Italeri ambulance jeep and an old Peerless Max WC54 Dodge ambulance. But it quickly turned into a passion.
“Military history in general, but especially U.S. WWII military, has been a large part of my life. At times I think I was born in the wrong era. Building models of these soldiers, their equipment and vehicles, and attempting to portray them as they really were helps that time period really come alive for me.
“I enjoy making a part or a piece that is original, challenging myself to come up with a way to create that item. I really like doing conversions — mostly on figures — posing them the way I want. I don’t like to be limited by the manufactured pose.
“But I have not forgotten my collection of 1/48 scale airplanes and helicopters. They keep staring out at me from the closet shelves! I am looking forward to building my Sikorsky helicopters and WWII four-engine bombers — once I have enough room.”
Back home in Missouri, Nate’s the president of Branson’s IPMS chapter, the Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists, which will be holding its annual show, Moss Con, in Branson on October 19, 2013. You can get more information about the chapter and the show at www.ipmsmoss.com.
