Doonesbury

During Steve's seven month deployment in the Saudi Arabian Desert, he received many letters and newspapers from home. Reading Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury strip gave many of the troops in the desert insight into the feelings of the general public back at home. Steve read and objected to Garry Trudeau's depiction of Navy Officers living comfortably in air conditioned ships while the rest of the services breathed sand. Given Steve's Spartan accommodations in a tent, he struck up a correspondence with Trudeau which in turn “led to the rare honor of the comic strip equivalent of guest-star roles in Doonesbury”.

Recognizing good material when he saw it, Trudeau used the couple's experiences to wind up an extended story arc for his characters B.D. and Boopsie, likewise separated by military service in the Gulf.

Trudeau later sent the pair a set of the strips signed with the message “Thanks for the inspiration.”(1)

     

  

(1) D. Hubley Bates Magazine, spring 2003