![]() ![]() ![]() In the early cartoons, depicting stateside military life in barracks and training camps, Willie was a hook-nosed, smart-mouthed Chocktaw Indian, while Joe was his red-necked straight man. In most cartoons, they were shown in the rain, mud, and other dire conditions, while they contemplated the whole situation. He extended the bristles on their faces and the eyes – "too old for those young bodies", as Mauldin put it – showed how much Willie and Joe suffered. They gradually became darker and more realistic in their depiction of the weariness of the enduring miseries of war. Mauldin was sent to combat, influencing his cartoons. Near the end of 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the USA entered World War II. He cartooned part-time for the camp newspaper. ![]() ![]() Mauldin was an 18-year-old soldier training with the 45th Infantry Division in 1940. They were published in a gag cartoon format, first in the 45th Division News, then Stars and Stripes, and starting in 1944, a syndicated newspaper cartoon distributed by United Feature Syndicate. They were created and drawn by American cartoonist Bill Mauldin from 1940 to 1948, with additional drawings later. Willie and Joe are stock characters representing United States infantry soldiers during World War II. Publicity shot of Willie and Joe, drawn by Bill Mauldin, 1940s. ![]()
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