Somewhere up in cartoon heaven, Willie and Joe must be smiling.

That's because their daddy, the late cartoonist Bill Mauldin, received a commemorative U.S. postal stamp Wednesday.

The 44-cent stamp — available for purchase today — features both a picture of a smirk-faced, helmet-wearing Mauldin (shot by Life magazine photographer John Phillips in 1943) and a cartoon image of Willie and Joe looking as if they just escaped yet another brush with hell.

The U.S. Postal Service unveiled the stamp at a dedication ceremony in the auditorium of The New Mexico History Museum. About 175 people attended the event, which included a rendition of the national anthem, a presentation of colors by the New Mexico State Police Honor Guard, and an array of speakers, all of whom praised Mauldin as a great American.

Mauldin, who was born in Mountain Park, N.M., in 1921, died in 2003. He enlisted in the Army in September 1940 and prided himself on being on the front lines with American soldiers as they fought to liberate Europe during World War II.

"He didn't just draw soldiers — he was a soldier," said Mickey Barnett, a member of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors. He called Mauldin "one of America's greatest cartoonists."

World War II brought fame to Mauldin, who earned a Purple Heart and was awarded both the distinguished Legion of Merit and a Pulitzer Prize by 1945.

Yet his postwar career included acting in movies, running (unsuccessfully) for Congress, writing fiction and nonfiction books — including the memoir Up Front — working as a political and editorial cartoonist for various newspapers, and covering both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

He moved to Santa Fe in the early 1970s and lived here for some time, sculpting at Shidoni Foundry, lecturing and writing.

Still, as the new stamp makes clear, Mauldin remains best known for Willie and Joe, two self-proclaimed fugitives from the law of averages who were continually covered in mud, filth and grime, and who survived one close call after another with an equal dose of luck and sardonic humor.

"These two guys look like a couple of guys who served with me," noted Vietnam veteran John M. Garcia, secretary of the Department of Veterans Services in New Mexico. Garcia said he first came across the Willie and Joe cartoons during his Vietnam tour of duty.

Mauldin's Willie and Joe cartoons were not so much a reflection of humanity as they were a commentary on the day-to-day life of the combat soldier. To that end, Garcia said, their adventures and observations still hold true for soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When the stamp was unveiled, applause broke out, and some members of the audience — many of whom were veterans, based on Garcia's call for veterans to stand and be acknowledged — noticeably wiped tears from their eyes.

Even the speeches of the political figures who were present — which had the potential to be self-serving — were filled with poignancy.

Mayor David Coss, for instance, referring to Mauldin's self-description of himself as a "stirrer-upper" who easily annoyed the higher brass with his critical cartoons of the top rank, said, "We need those kind of people, we need them today."

Many of Mauldin's children and grandchildren were on hand for the roughly one-hour event.

Master of ceremonies Marie Therese Dominguez, who is vice president of government relations and public policy for the postal service, said the organization receives about 50,000 suggestions for commemorative stamps each year. The postal service usually creates 25 to 30 such stamps yearly.

Other celebrities being honored with commemorative stamps in 2010 include Mother Teresa, actress Katherine Hepburn, artist Winslow Homer, cowboy film stars Tom Mix, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, and World War II African American hero Doris "Dorie" Miller.

Contact Robert Nott at rnott@sfnewmexican.com.