Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 15, 1990 TAG: 9006150191
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
In a Flag Day ceremony at the Pentagon, cartoonist Mort Walker received a framed "certificate of appreciation for patriotic civilian service" from Brig. Gen. Bill McClain, who declared an armistice in the Army's decades-old hostilities against the slovenly buck private.
"Through it all, you have entertained us, although sometimes we haven't always liked it," said McClain, the Army's public affairs chief. He observed: "If you can't laugh at yourself, something is intrinsically wrong with you."
Tongue in cheek, Walker replied that it was always "the dream of Gen. Halftrack and mine to hear from the Pentagon," and it took 40 years to get the call.
"I can't believe I'm actually here," Walker said. "As hard as it is to find anything in the Pentagon, they finally found a sense of humor."
Since Walker created the popular comic strip in 1950, based on his experiences as an Army draftee in World War II, Beetle Bailey and his cartoon friends have annoyed some Pentagon brass who complained they presented an unflattering image of Army life.
In 1954, the Tokyo edition of The Stars and Stripes military newspaper drummed Beetle off its pages because the strip poked fun at officers. The official explanation was that "Beetle Bailey had a low interest value," but the move was denounced in newspaper editorials.
Stars and Stripes banned the strip again in 1970, as did some Southern newspapers, when Walker introduced Lt. Flap, a feisty black character. Miss Buxley, the bosomy secretary to Gen. Halftrack, drew protests from feminists.
Putting the controversy behind, the Army heaped praise on Walker in its citation Thursday.
"His ingenuity in portraying Army members in a humorous manner has contributed significantly to the morale of our soldiers as they provide for our national security," it read. Said Maj. Gen. Richard E. Stephenson, "Beetle Bailey is the vehicle that enables us to see the lighter side of our profession and keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously."
Accompanied by life-size Beetle and Sarge characters, Walker gave Army officials a cartoon diorama based on his special Flag Day strip. It appeared Thursday in the more than 1,800 newspapers worldwide that carry Beetle Bailey.
by CNB