Rayson Billey; Inspired WWII Cartoon

Rayson Billey, 71, credited by Bill Mauldin with inspiring the latter’s cartoon “Willie and Joe,” which became a staple for soldiers during World War II. The cartoon was published between 1940 and 1945 in the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. “He had lots of sides to him, this guy,” Mauldin said. “He was my guru. He taught me about the Army and how to get along in the infantry too.” The cartoon portrayed U.S. soldiers making often irreverent comments about their status in the war effort. “He sort of took me under his wing,” Mauldin said of his wartime service in the infantry with Billey, who was a career soldier. In Muskogee, Okla., on Tuesday of undisclosed causes.