Author Description

G.I. Bill was a popular satirical cartoon strip about military life that ran from 1987-1991. Inspired by a crack of lightning during a company ruck march in backwoods of North Carolina...G.I. Bill was brought to life and boldly marched onto the pages of The Paraglide in 1987. The name G.I. Bill is a play-on-words. A combination of the revamped Montgomery GI Bill of 1984, combined with a nostalgic nod to the Kung Fu Grip era of G.I. Joe s of the 1970 s. The main character, G.I. Bill, is portrayed as the nameless private who has volunteered for military service to pay for college and now must learn to embrace the indignities of army life to achieve his goals. In 1989 after Operation Just Cause two strange birds of unknown origin and species began to appear in the strip after stowing away in his ruck sack. The birds continued to be an intricate part of the cartoon strip for the next two years wreaking havoc with their opinions on military issues and world events. By 1991 GI Bill was at the top of his game winning numerous commendations and awards for military journalism while at the same time being actively deployed during the Cold War in Central America, Drug War in South America, Panama Invasion and finally a personal invitation to the Gulf War. But somewhere in the desert between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait G.I. Bill ended as suddenly as the bolt of lightning that inspired his creation. To this day there has never been an explanation for this abrupt departure...