1944.06.09 “Tough”
by George (Geo) White (1901 – 1964)
12 x 14 in., pencil/crayon on paper
Coppola Collection
George (Geo) White was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1901 and relocated to Tampa with this family in 1915. After completing a correspondence course in drawing, White studied art under Tampa artist Walter Collins. He started as a commercial artist at the Tampa Morning Tribune in 1928 and by 1934 was a regular cartoonist at the Tribune. His cartoons were featured on the front page and became a staple of the paper until his death on March 7, 1964. In 1943, a compilation of his World War Two cartoons were compiled and edited by Byron S. Stephens in a book entitled, The War in Black With White.
A reply to the June 6, 1944, D-Day operation, when Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, marking the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe. The Germans had fortified the coast, expecting an invasion but were ultimately caught off-guard in both scale and location. Despite heavy casualties, the Allied beachheads held, and a rapid expansion of the invasion front followed.
By June 9, news of the success of the landings was widely reported. Nazi propaganda had downplayed the invasion, but internal reports showed concern and confusion in the German command structure.
