Bill Mauldin
Early Life and Education
Bill Mauldin was born on October 29, 1921, in Mountain Park, New Mexico. He was the son of Sidney Albert Mauldin and Katrina (nee Pearson) Mauldin. Mauldin's father was a mechanic and his mother was a housewife. The family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, when Mauldin was six years old.
Mauldin showed an early interest in drawing and received encouragement from his high school art teacher. He attended Phoenix Union High School, where he contributed cartoons to the school newspaper. After graduating from high school, Mauldin attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied cartooning.
World War II
In 1940, Mauldin enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to the 45th Infantry Division. He served as a machine gunner and a cartoonist for the division's newspaper, The 45th Division News. Mauldin's cartoons, which depicted the daily life and struggles of soldiers, were popular among his fellow servicemen.
During the war, Mauldin created his most famous characters, infantrymen Willie and Joe. These characters, who were often depicted as weary and unshaven, became symbols of the American infantryman during World War II. Mauldin's cartoons were published in the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, and were later compiled into a book, Up Front, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1945.
Post-War Career
After the war, Mauldin continued his career as a cartoonist. He worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Chicago Sun-Times, where he continued to comment on military and political issues. Mauldin won his second Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 1959 for a cartoon commenting on the school desegregation crisis in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Mauldin also wrote several books, including Back Home and A Sort of a Saga. In addition to his work as a cartoonist and author, Mauldin was a frequent guest on television talk shows and lectured at colleges and universities.
Personal Life and Death
Mauldin was married three times and had seven children. He was an avid outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting and fishing. Mauldin died on January 22, 2003, in Newport Beach, California. He was 81 years old.
Legacy
Mauldin's work continues to be celebrated for its insight and humor. His cartoons are considered a significant contribution to American journalism and are often used in discussions of military and political history. In 2010, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp in Mauldin's honor.
