Bill Mauldin -- WWII and Military Jeep Stories

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Date Posted: 22:34:40 07/13/08 Sun
Author: Harold Ferguson
Subject: Bill Mauldin

I worked for a television station in 1988, and decided to do a feature story about why the army had gotten rid of the quarter ton Jeep in favor of the Hum V. I needed an interview for the story, so I contacted Bill Mauldin who lived in Santa Fe New Mexico about giving me an interviw. When we arrived, I asked him if he knew anyone who might have a WW11 jeep, that we could use for our story. Without saying a word, he just smiled and threw the tarp off of a jeep sitting there in his back yard. He then said, "I bought this one as soon as I got home from the war in 1945. I had my own Jeep during the war, and just felt that I needed to replace it." He got in the seat, turned the key, and as the engine roared to life he said, "I haven't started this thing in several years, but I'm not surprised it started, they were pretty dependable." We spent several hours riding around, shooting video, and talking....one of the most memorable times I've had, is getting to talk with the creator of "Willy and Joe." After dark, we went inside his home to continue our interview. On the kitchen table was a clay sculpture of the sergent puting his 45 to the hood of a Jeep, with a broken axle. Bill told me that if there was one idea he has returned too over and over, it's the jeep with the broken axle. "Of all the ideas I've had for cartoons...It's the jeep with the broken axle being delt with by the sargent that's my favorite... the same way horses with broken legs were delt with by the calveryman a hundred years before. The best ideas are the ones that can stand alone without words." Bill went on, to tell me that he was trying to work with clay, and create a sculpture of this "idea". A idea he had returned too many times. I do not know if he ever finished the wonderful piece he was trying to create, but I do know that meeting Bill Mauldin was a great honor. I stll treasure a drawing he made for me of "Willy", and a autographed book of his cartoons still sits proudly on my bookshelf. For anyone interested, Many of his orginal drawings, he drew during the war for his first book "Up Front" are on display at the 45th Armored Division National Guard post in Oklahoma City. Thank you, Harold

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Replies:

Re: Bill Mauldin -- Mark Corgey, 22:33:23 01/18/11 Tue
Re: Bill Mauldin -- Russ Padden, 06:05:11 11/03/12 Sat