Stand-By One!
In 1969, Vernon Grant drew upon his ten years of Army life to create 64 cartoons for his book, STAND-BY ONE! The topics range from preparing for battle to sexual themes to references to the Viet-Cong and the weather. Two officers are looking at a map of Vietnam, one says to the other, “In case you are captured, you can eat the message…I had it printed on rolled pizza!” Two soldiers are sitting in a fox hole, with a helicopter hovering above. One is reading a Playboy magazine, exclaiming, “Yessir…all the essentials delivered by air!” A scene in the jungle shows three Viet Cong who have set up dynamite next to stacks of beer containers, gleefully exclaiming, “Now we’ll blast ‘em where it hurts the most!” Pictured are four soldiers, wrapped in towels, bars of soap in hand, standing outside, imploring the heavens, “Oh mighty monsoon, daily washer of soiled soldiers, and Do yer stuff for Vietnam’s dirtiest fire team!” The humor is universal, even to civilians, and will bring laughter to service people of all eras.