Dilbert cartoon first published on Thursday 1st March 1990

Dilbert//320, first published 36 years ago on Thursday 1st March 1990

Tags

dilbert uncle picture eleven purple hearts william wounded times war warfare

Official transcript

Dilbert and Dogbert sit on the couch looking through a photo album. Dilbert says, "Here's a picture of my uncle just before he was drafted. He was awarded eleven purple hearts."

Dogbert asks, "He was wounded eleven times?!"

Dilbert replies, "Uncle William insisted that his friends call him 'Will' . . ."

Three soldiers kneel in a trench. A commanding officer yells, "Okay, men, fire at will!!"

and the other soldiers look at Will.

originally published on dilbert.com

Open source transcript

HERE'S A PICTURE OF MY UNCLE JUST BEFORE HE WAS DRAFTED. HE WAS AWARDED ELEVEN PURPLE HEARTS.

HE WAS WOUNDED ELEVEN TIMES ?!

UNCLE WILLIAM INSISTED THAT HIS FRIENDS CALL HIM "WILL".

OKAY, MEN, FIRE AT WILL!!

collated from github.com/jvarn/dilbert-archive

AI Analysis

Title: "Dilbert: Purple Hearts"

Summary:

The comic strip features Dilbert, a bespectacled character, sitting on a couch with a helmet on his lap. He is reading a letter from his uncle, who has been awarded eleven Purple Hearts for his service in the military. The uncle explains that he was wounded eleven times, but the soldiers in his unit insisted that he call them "Will" instead of his actual name.

The punchline of the joke is that the uncle's friends were so impressed by his bravery that they nicknamed him "Will," which is a common nickname for William. The humor comes from the unexpected twist on the typical meaning of a Purple Heart, which is an award given to soldiers who are wounded in combat. In this case, the uncle's "wounds" are not physical, but rather a result of his friends' playful teasing.

Overall, the comic strip uses wordplay and clever writing to create a humorous and lighthearted joke. It pokes fun at the idea of military awards and the camaraderie that develops among soldiers in the field.

generated by llama-3.2-11b-vision-instruct

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