“WW II Vets” (May 12, 1985)
by Charles Phillip Bissell (1926 -)
11 x 17.5, ink and wash on board
Coppola Collection

In 1960, Boston Globe cartoonist Phil Bissell, working for $25 a day, was handed an assignment that would change his life—and the lives of fans of the brand-new AFL football team coming to Boston. “Sports editor Jerry Nason came to me and he said, ‘They’ve decided to call the team the Boston Patriots. You better have a cartoon ready for tomorrow’s edition.’” Bissel’s “Pat Patriot” cartoon was the Patriot’s logo from 1961-1992.

On May 8, 1945, VE Day, about a week after Hitler’s suicide and the fall of Berlin, the Allies of World War II accepted Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces.

It is hard to tell what else was in the word balloon, but the intention is clear: can it really be 40 years ago…?