The United States Postal Service will release a stamp in honor of Bill Mauldin on March 31.  It’s an elegantly-designed piece, and I’m proud to say I played a very small role in its development.  Unfortunately, I can’t claim a hand in the design.  I only confirmed and corrected the biographical information that accompanies the stamp. 

The first-day-of-issue ceremony will be on March 31 at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  The 45-minute ceremony will begin at 11:00am.  Mauldin’s sons and family will be there, and I’ll be on hand to offer a few remarks about this extraordinary artist and the continued relevance of his work.

The stamp features a photograph taken of Mauldin in Naples, Italy, in late December 1943 by John Phillips of Life magazine.  The image of Willie and Joe is taken from a cartoon published in Stars & Stripes (Mediterranean) on April 8, 1944.  When Mauldin drew it, scientists were still isolating and identifying vitamins, and vitamin pills were a recent invention that promised strength and pep.  

Read more about the Bill Mauldin stamp and first-day-of-issue ceremoney here.