By LYNN ELBER, AP Entertainment Writer


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Comic strip artist Mort Walker, a World War II veteran who satirized the Army and tickled millions of newspaper readers with the antics of the lazy private "Beetle Bailey," died Saturday. He was 94.


Walker died at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, said Greg Walker, his eldest son and a collaborator. His father's advanced age was the cause of death, he said.


Walker began publishing cartoons at age 11 and was involved with more than a half-dozen comic strips in his career, including "Hi and Lois," ''Boner's Ark" and "Sam & Silo." But he found his greatest success drawing slacker Beetle, his hot-tempered sergeant and the rest of the gang at fictional Camp Swampy for nearly 70 years.


The character that was to become Beetle Bailey made his debut as Spider in Walker's cartoons published by the Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. Walker changed Spider's name and launched "Beetle Bailey" as a college humor strip in 1950.

RIP. Enjoyed many a Beetle Bailey comic as a kid.

RIP

I greatly enjoyed me some Beetle Bailey as well.

Taps.

These were a big part of my childhood.

RIP. I enjoyed many a laugh with that comic strip.

My favorite character wasn't Beetle, it was Otto.

Many smiles reading your cartoons Mr. Walker, RIP.

Another person I thought died years ago. At 94 he had a long life. RIP Mr. Walker

Followed Beetle for many year in the comic section of the paper RIP

RIP

He had a good run. I enjoyed the Beetle Baily cartoons and the Hi + Lois ones.

I loved me some Beetle Bailey growing up and still do to this day.

To be honest I thought he passed away some time ago. I didn't know that he also created the Hi and Lois cartoon strip as well.

Also thank you for your service Mr. Walker.
I pulled this paragraph from the Stamford Historical Society, which has a great interview with him and his role in WW2. It is a blast to read.
http://www.stamfordhistory.org/ww2_walker.htm

Mort Walker was drafted initially into the Army Air Corps in 1941, and later was part of the Signal Corps and Infantry before being shipped to Italy in 1945 on board the Mariposa, a converted luxury liner that also carried 100 nurses. Once there, he became head of security for Ordnance Base #1 in Naples in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius. In addition to guarding ordnance, Walker oversaw 10,000 German POWs, mostly regular army and signal corps men.