WWII Cartoon Sketchbook – Master Sergeant Ralph Duzan Pollard (1911–1992) _ Page 1

Master Sergeant Ralph Duzan Pollard (1911–1992)

Medium: Pencil on paper, WWII sketchbook page
Size (approx.): 11" × 14" scrapbook sheet (individual drawings ~4.5" × 6")
Provenance: Estate archive, World War History & Art Museum (Alliance, Ohio).
Artist Background: Ralph D. Pollard was a Cincinnati-born commercial artist (University of Cincinnati, Class of 1934, Pi Kappa Alpha) who worked as an art director for Procter & Gamble postwar. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII, rising to Master Sergeant, and filled his downtime in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) with satirical cartoons lampooning both himself and military life.

Cartoon Analysis – Page 1

Cartoon 1 (Top): "Mole or Pipe?"

Scene: Two soldiers crawl forward in a combat zone. One points out a possible mole. The other quips: “Wait a minute and see if a pipe sticks up.”

Meaning: This is a self-referential gag: Pollard was known for smoking a pipe, and here he imagines his own head—pipe first—being mistaken for enemy movement. A darkly comic look at reconnaissance anxiety, while poking fun at his personal trademark.

Commentary: Shows Pollard’s gift for merging battlefield peril with lighthearted self-deprecation, underscoring the humanity and humor soldiers used to cope with constant danger.

Cartoon 2 (Bottom): "Air Conditioning for Sgt. Pollard"

Scene: Officers deliberate: “Captain, I don’t like to coddle one man and I shudder to think of what we’re doing to the taxpayers, but I guess we’ll have to put in Sgt. Pollard’s damned old air conditioning.”

Meaning: Pollard portrays himself as the pampered NCO, lounging shirtless with a pipe, demanding comforts far beyond field reality.

Commentary: This caricature lampoons the stereotype of the self-important sergeant who always looks after his own needs first, while also satirizing government spending and bureaucracy. It reveals his ability to connect his personal quirks with universal GI frustrations.

📖 Reference: See the Books & Ephemera Gallery entry WWII Cartoon Sketchbook & Postwar Career - Master Sergeant Ralph Duzan Pollard (1911–1992) for Ralph D. Pollard’s biography, education (University of Cincinnati, 1934), wartime service, and postwar career at Procter & Gamble.