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www.skegley.blogspot.com The Blog of Sam Kegley. Many of my posts to this site are forwarded from trusted friends or family which I acknowledge by their first Name and last initial. I do not intend to release their contact info.
He meant so much to the millions of Americans who fought in World War II, and to those who had waited for them to come home.
He was a kid cartoonist for Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper;
Mauldin's drawings of his muddy, exhausted, whisker-stubble infantrymen
Willie and Joe were the voice of truth about what it was like on the front lines.Mauldin was an enlisted man, just like the soldiers for whom he drew; his gripes were their gripes, his laughs their laughs, his heartaches their heartaches. He was one of them. They loved him.
He never held back. Sometimes, when his cartoons cut too close for comfort, superior officers tried to tone him down. In one memorable incident, he enraged Gen George S. Patton, who informed Mauldin he wanted the pointed cartoons celebrating the fighting men, lampooning the high-ranking officers to stop. Now!
"I'm beginning to feel like a fugitive from the' law of averages."The news passed from soldier to soldier. How was Sgt. Bill Mauldin going to stand up to Gen. Patton? It seemed impossible.
Not quite. Mauldin, it turned out, had an ardent fan: Five-star Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, SCAFE, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe . Ike put out the word: "Mauldin draws what Mauldin wants."Mauldin won. Patton lost.
If, in your line of work, you've ever considered yourself a young hotshot, or if you've ever known anyone who has felt that way about him or herself, the story of Mauldin's young manhood will humble you. Here is what, by the time he was 23 years old, Mauldin had accomplished:+
"By the way, wot wuz them changes you wuz
gonna make when you took over last month, sir?"
He won the Pulitzer Prize & was on the cover of Time magazine. His book "Up Front" was the No. 1 best-seller in the United States ..
All of that at 23. Yet, when he returned to civilian life and grew older, he never lost that boyish Mauldin grin, never outgrew his excitement about doing his job, never big-shotted or high-hatted the people with whom he worked every day.
I was lucky enough to be one of them. Mauldin roamed the hallways of the Chicago Sun-Times in the late 1960s and early 1970s with no more officiousness or air of haughtiness than if he was a copyboy. That impish look on his face remained.
He had achieved so much. He won a second Pulitzer Prize, and he should have won a third for what may be the single greatest editorial cartoon in the history of the craft: his deadline rendering, on the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, of the statue at the Lincoln Memorial, slumped in grief, its head cradled in its hands. But he never acted as if he was better than the people he met. He was still Mauldin, the enlisted man.
During the late summer of 2002, as Mauldin lay in that California nursing home, some of the old World War II infantry guys caught wind of it. They didn't want Mauldin to go out that way. They thought he should know he was still their hero."This is the' town my pappy told me about."Gordon Dillow, a columnist for the Orange County Register, put out the call in Southern California for people in the area to send their best wishes to Mauldin. I joined Dillow in the effort, helping to spread the appeal nationally, so Bill would not feel so alone. Soon, more than 10,000 cards and letters had arrived at Mauldin's bedside.
Better than that, old soldiers began to show up just to sit with Mauldin, to let him know that they were there for him, as he, so long ago, had been there for them. So many volunteered to visit Bill that there was a waiting list. Here is how Todd DePastino, in the first paragraph of his wonderful biography of Mauldin, described it:
"Almost every day in the summer and fall of 2002, they came to Park Superior nursing home in Newport Beach , California , to honor Army Sergeant, Technician Third Grade, Bill Mauldin. They came bearing relics of their youth: medals, insignia, photographs, and carefully folded newspaper clippings. Some wore old garrison caps. Others arrived resplendent in uniforms over a half century old. Almost all of them wept as they filed down the corridor like pilgrims fulfilling some long-neglected obligation."
One of the veterans explained to me why it was so important: "You would have to be part of a combat infantry unit to appreciate what moments of relief Bill gave us You had to be reading a soaking wet Stars and Stripes in a water-filled foxhole and then see one of his cartoons.""Th' hell this ain't th' most important hole in the world. I'm in it."
Mauldin is buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Last month, the kid cartoonist made it onto a first-class postage stamp. It's an honor that most generals and admirals never receive.
What Mauldin would have loved most, I believe, is the sight of the two guys who keep him company on that stamp.
Take a look at it.There's Willie. There's Joe.
And there, to the side, drawing them and smiling that shy, quietly observant smile, is Mauldin himself. With his buddies, right where he belongs. Forever.
What a story, and a fitting tribute to a man and to a time that few of us can still remember. But I say to you youngsters, you must most seriously learn of, and remember with respect, the sufferings and sacrifices of your fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers in times you cannot ever imagine today with all you have. But the only reason you are free to have it all is because of them!
I thought you would all enjoy reading and seeing this bit of American history.In God We Trust.Please note: If you forward this email please delete the forwarding history, which includes my email address. It is a courtesy to me and others who may not wish to have their email addresses sent all over the world! Thanks.
26 charter schools just declared formal school holidays for two Muslim holy days in the 2016 calendar. And all are happy... because there are two fewer days to attend and two fewer days to teach....THIS ISSUE IS EVEN MORE PRONOUNCED IN MY THINKING AT THIS TIME SINCE THE MARINE WHOSE DAUGHTER (IN LA PLATA, MD SCHOOL ) REC'D A FAILING GRADE IN HISTORY BECAUSE SHE REFUSED TO TAKE THE ISLAM STUDY COURSE ....INCIDENTALLY NO ALTERNATIVE COURSE WAS OFFERED. HER MARINE FATHER BROUGHT THIS TO THE FOREFRONT ...SINCE HE FOUGHT IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN , AND IS VERY AWARE OF HOW DANGEROUS THIS RELIGION IS...DEFINITELY NOT ONE OF PEACE.When we get 100,000,000, that's one hundred million willing Christians to BOND together, voice their concerns and vote, we can take back America with God's help. Become one of the One hundred million... Then let's get 200 million. It can be done just by sending this email to your friends. Do the math. It only takes a single willing heart and a fed up SOUL. God Bless America and Shine your light on Her!Now President Obama is encouraging schools to teach the Quran for extra credit, while at the same time, they cannot even talk about the Bible, God, pray, or salute the American Flag.The direction this country is headed should strike fear in the heart of every Christian, especially knowing that the Muslim religion believes that if Christians cannot be converted, they should be annihilated.Send this to three people, or even one hundred ! And, send it the person who Sent it to you!. To let them know that indeed, it was sent out to many more.
Subject: Fwd: YES OR NO?This vote only requires you to forward it in order to be counted.As many of you are aware, the Knights of Columbus submitted to congress that the words "Under God" should be added to our pledge of allegiance. Both Houses of Congress passed the law and it was signed by President Eisenhower in 1954. The information below was based on a poll taken by NBC on what percentage should keep the words in our pledge verses the percent who want it removed.If you read this and agree that "under God should be left in the pledge, then just forward it to others and you have voted for it to be left in. If you delete it and don't forward it you are voting NO to "under God." Easy, huh?________________________________ Official Versions Over the Years1892"I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."1892 to 1923"I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."1923 to 1924"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."1924 to 1954"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America , and to the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all."1954 to Present"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America , and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."________________________________ A Shock to NBC NEWS...This is not sent for discussion. If you agree, forward it...If you don't, delete it. I don't want to know one way or the other. By my forwarding it, you know how I feel.86% to keep God in the Pledge of Allegiance and 14% against. That is a pretty 'commanding' public response.I was asked to send this on ONLY if I agreed or delete if I didn't.Now it is your turn. It is said that 86% of Americans believe the word God should stay. Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a mess about having God in the Pledge of Allegiance.Why should our Nation cater to 14%?If you agree, pass this on. If not, simply delete.IN GOD WE TRUST! INDEED!
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