Willie and Joe

My condolences on the passing of your father - at 99 years of age, he must have had a full and interesting life - and, being buried at Arlington, he was another American hero.... I'm sure that you have plenty to be proud of.

Rest in Peace, Sir.





When you next visit Arlington, I would be interested in hearing about Mauldin's gravesite.... a picture would be nice, also.

-Lou

 

Fsbof - evidently, there was more than one soldier named 'Bill' Mauldin. I was cruising some Mauldin sites, and stumbled across this photo.


-whatever

-Lou

 

Hey!
I forgot to post the pics of the book I got!!!
ok, well i can't seem to post any images here!
what the crap!

 

Scarface - Well, so much for my theory ! Wonder if the other "Bill Mauldin" got tired of hearing "Hey ... aren't you that cartoonist?" - out of curiosity, I'll look at the other marker to find out if he was the same generation. Thanks.

 

​

'Let B Comp'ny go in. They ain't been kissed yet.'​

-whatever​

-Lou​

 

I know the Marines in the Pacific had Phamacist Mates as medics. Were they volunteers, or just Pharmacists mates that were assigned to accompany the jarheads?

I know so little.

-whatever

-Lou[/QUOTE]

Medics were part of the battalion medical unit. They would either treat wounded there, or be assigned to the rifle companys as needed. Usually two or three would be with a company more or less permanently since injurys occur at anytime, not just in combat. The battalion medical section had roughly 20-25 men or one quarter of the infantry regiments medical company, which totaled in 1943 103 enlisted, 7 doctors, & 2 dentists. This group serviced some 3000 men of the infantry regiment. There was also a divsion medical battalion of 400 to 500 men. The infantry divsion had a total of slightly over 1000 medical personel spread thorugh its battalions & HQs.

Both. Volunteers were prefered, but the industrial management theorys that guided the US militarys personell assigment did not waste any time filling gaps from lack of volunteers.

 

Theres more to this. Look carefully at the clerks shirt. He is wearing a combat infantrys mans badge, even tho he is safely 500 meters to the rear, sleeps in a dry tent, and obviously has not crawled thru any mud recently. Not only does the medic not recieve the extra pay, but he does not rate the combat badge.

This particular bit of beurcratic nonsense was changed sometime late in the war.

 

So, do I understand correctly that the 'rear echelon' clerk, having a Combat Infantry badge, got combat pay while the medic, who was on the front lines taking care of the dogfaces, didn't?

SNAFU.....BIG-time!

Thanks for pointing that out, Carl.


-whatever

-Lou

 

Interesting fact, only 3 men have won the highest British military medal the Victoria Cross twice, of these, 2 were medic's.
:ouble VC winners::

 

Strange as this topic comes up again but, I was at a local Wally World (aka) WalMart, today and I saw that they were selliing Mil Hist and WWII Magazines. The magazines featured a nice story about Bill Mauldin.

And speaking of double recipients of a nation's highest award:

You might be interested in reading about USMC Sgt Dan Daly. Sgt Daly was a double MoH Recipient and if if had not been for Beurocratic Nonsense, Dan Daly and another Marine, could have easily been awarded the MoH a 3rd time. Also, I saw a pic of both of these double MoH Recipients in said named publications above, and both of them certainly do look like the great Marines that we might imagine. On the photo's of both of these Marines, the looks on their faces are priceless. One can imagine that neither of them had much to smile about in those days.

 

-whatever

-Lou

 

funny all around guys never new anythink about willie and joe
haft to look into it
best krieg

 

True it's the first time I hear about these guys. I enjoy it!

 

While I give full credit to the "Willie and Joe " cartoons, the Canadian Army's series about "Herbie " was also very funny, but with a uniquely Canadian point of view.

" Herbie " appeared in the "Maple Leaf " the weekly newspaper of the Canadian Army overseas, in WW2. He was a small sloppy shy guy who never quite got his stuff together, despite the personal guidance and attention of the company and Regimental Sgt Majors. True to human nature there was at least ONE Herbie in every platoon , company or Battalion in the entire Canadian army. And he had cousins in the navy and the air force, too.

Herbie could be counted on to get lost on patrol, sneeze just before the ambush was to be activated, and he had the most amazing ability to find stray dogs and kids, everywhere. In short, he had a LOT of the average soldier in him, and it made the guys love him, for his sins, and his faults.

Herbie was once asked , by an WW2 correspondant................

"What do you want to get out of this war ? He said ....." ME "" !!!

Herbie made a come back for Korea, and was last seen at CF Forward Operating Base Halo, in Khandahar Province, Afghanistan. He still hasen't got his stuff together, but he is now wearing his body armour right side out, which is a good sign, don't you think ? (grin ).

Jim Bunting.

PS I was a Herbie, as a young soldier, but I learned to overcome my failings, and eventually made it past Master Corporal, to the surprise of all who knew me.

 

They say "Great minds think alike".

On Page 47 of my Army Album "Jon" dealt with almost the identical situation (You'll need to scan down to see the original cartoon):
Ron Goldstein's Actual Army Album

I have always admired the Willie & Joe series and whenever I was able to get my hands on the American Army newspapers would always turn to the page that featured the cartoon.

 

Interesting - I've never heard of 'Herbie'

... a quick Google found this one....




-don't know that I totally 'get' it, but.... well....

-whatever

-Lou

EDIT: There evidently is an old paperback of 'Herbie and Friends'




As described at Gazelle Book Services:

Herbie & Friends - Cartoons In Wartime​

Barry D Rowland
9780920474525
205x255mm
104 pages
Natural Heritage Books
£10.50 pb
​

Clearly the favourite character of Canada's overseas troops during World War 2, 'Herbie' had a penchant for getting into some of the most bizarre predicaments imaginable. With feet that generally led to trouble and a nose like a disillusioned banana, Herbie provided Canadian soldiers with a daily ration of laughter at a time when humour was often at a premium. No figure before or since boosted so effectively the spirit of Canadians overseas. As J D MacFarlane, Editor of The Maple Leaf, stated so aptly: "War can be funny as hell. Things happen to soldiers that shouldn't happen to a human -- crazy situations that add touches of humour to an otherwise grim business... Herbie helped to win the war with laughs."​

Apparently, Amazon.com has a couple used ones available.

w/e

-L

 

It's been awhile since I've added an update....



-whatever

-Lou

 

You're right about Willie & Joe...they're GREAT!

I just bought "Bill Mauldin's Army"
Bill Mauldin's greatest World War Two Cartoons

20 bucks at Barnes & Noble (less with your member card)

383 pages and 1/3 rd that many more cartoons. It took me 4 days to read them all, a lot of laugh time.

Unless you're Caesar & have satellite surveillance this is the "War" you'd see, (and most others saw).

Excellent all around.

 

"Why ya lookin' so sad? I got out of it okay."




-whatever


-Lou

EDIT: By way of explanation (because it's not immediately obvious from the poor quality scan), that jeep is marked 'U.S. Mail', and you can also see smoking, unopened letters scattered about on the ground.

Mail was sacred.

-w/e

-L

 

Scarface :

As an old retired M.P. I can tell you that "Herbie " is "not properly dressed " because he has his tunic collar unbuttoned . A major crime, while on leave in Brussels, or any other place, for that matter. That is the refference to "gestapo " as the MP's would have been on street patrol, checking soldiers for proper leave papers. The real gestapo used to set up check points at train stations, to check for papers.

One of the basic differences between "herbie " and "willie and joe " was his appearance. Cleanly shaved and dressed in clean clothes.

Jim B. Toronto.