Stars and Stripes, G.I. Morale Booster No. 1. Sergeant William H.

Stars and Stripes, G.I. Morale Booster No. 1. Sergeant William H. Mauldin of Phoenix, Arizona, is congratulated by General Joseph T. McNarney, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean Theater of Operations, after awarding Sergeant Mauldin the Legion of Merit Medal for his work as a "Stars and Stripes"cartoonist June 6, 1945, in Rome, Italy. Mauldin drew his realistic cartoons on the life of the American "GI"witle sharing the danger and hardship of front-line existence. The medal, which he is wearing, was awarded "for exceptional conduct in the perdormance of outstanding service in the Meditteranean and European Theaters".