Top cartoon (Self-doubt / Flowers) Dialogue (verbatim): Pollard: “THEY HATE ME—THEY HATE ME NOT—THEY HATE ME—” Soldier (aside): “GO AHEAD—IS LIFE SO SWEET?” Reading notes: Pollard caricatures himself as a sergeant plucking flowers, parodying the old “loves-me, loves-me-not” game. Instead of romance, he tests whether his men despise him. The humor is self-deprecating: authority and insecurity collide in a single absurd image. The aside from a watching soldier cuts the sentimentality down, mocking the idea of a battlefield being the place for such doubts. A wry commentary on the uneasy bond between NCOs and their squads. Bottom cartoon (Bad Positions / Krauts’ Signs) Dialogue (verbatim): Soldier: “WHY DOES THAT DAMN SGT. POLLARD ALWAYS SET UP C.P.’s IN PLACES LIKE THIS?” Reading notes: Pollard exaggerates his own reputation for siting command posts in miserable spots. The cartoon shows the CP wedged under a bridge festooned with warning signs—“Krauts: Keep Out,” “Do Not Use This Bridge,” “Out Trouty Route.” Meanwhile, Pollard himself is pictured nestled comfortably in a dugout, lying down with a book, perfectly cozy. The contrast sharpens the gag: the men see danger and discomfort, but Pollard treats even the worst hole as a personal reading nook. It’s a layered bit of self-mockery, showing how authority figures could be resented for their choices while also finding ways to make themselves at ease.
