(Photo courtesy of John Read)

Last month, MAD Magazine illustrator and art director Sam Viviano was one of ten cartoonists to travel on a USO trip to entertain troops overseas by drawing funny pictures. All part of the National Cartoonists Society, these ten artists traveled to Germany, Kuwait and an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. To celebrate Veterans’ Day this year, Sam Viviano has written both a touching and funny portrait of his travels. Filled with his various observations and interactions, the piece is a moving testament to the troops Viviano encountered. “Most of us realized that, to some extent, the cartooning was secondary – the really important thing that was happening was the chance to sit down for ten or fifteen minutes and chat with one of the men or women who had chosen to volunteer for military service,” Viviano wrote. “Together, these men and women formed a community much larger that I could have imagined, all serving as a support system for the soldiers and airmen at the front whom we usually hear about in the news.” To read Sam’s full story, head on over to MAD’s official blog, THE IDIOTICAL. And for more about Viviano and his USO trip, check out TODAY.COM’s coverage as well as NEWSARAMA’s exclusive interview with him. Happy Veterans’ Day!