Re: “Defense Department says military newspaper Stars and Stripes must eliminate ‘woke distractions’ ” (Jan. 15, Nation):
Remember cartoonist Bill Mauldin? In the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, his dirty, disheveled and hapless characters Willie and Joe gave a voice to enlisted soldiers fighting on the front lines of World War II.
They were often disrespectful of second lieutenants, senior officers and rear-echelon soldiers in clean, pressed uniforms, but they served honorably and with valor, defining both American soldiers and American values — at least those of the time.
Today, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to take over Stars and Stripes. No doubt Willie and Joe would be chopped for disrespect of his authority. Because Willie and Joe had values.
Bill Woolf, Nordland
