Willie and Joe

[3] 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.

[5] The cartoons helped publicize the ground forces and showed the grim side of war, demonstrating that victory would require repeated sacrifices.

[6] Stephen Ambrose, author of Band of Brothers, praised Mauldin's work: "More than anyone else, save only Ernie Pyle, he caught the trials and travails of the GI.

He drew them to commemorate the funerals of people he admired, such as generals Omar Bradley and George C. Marshall and fellow cartoonist Milton Caniff.

The pair reappeared in a 1998 Veterans Day strip of the popular comic Peanuts, using art that had been copied out of a 1944 Willie and Joe panel.

[10] Charles M. Schulz, creator of Peanuts and himself a World War II Infantry combat veteran, was a personal friend of Mauldin's and considered him a hero.

"Willie and Joe" were satirized as "Billie and Moe" by Warren Sattler in National Lampoon Presents The Very Large Book of Comical Funnies.

On March 31, 2010, the United States Post Office released a first-class denomination "$0.44" postage stamp in Mauldin's honor depicting him with Willie & Joe.