Terry and The Pirates (comic Strip) - During World War II

During World War II

Caniff became increasingly concerned by the contemporary Second Sino-Japanese War, but he was prevented by his syndicate from identifying the Japanese directly. Caniff referred to them as "the invaders", and they soon became an integral part of the storyline.

After America's entry into World War II, Terry joined the United States Army Air Forces. The series then became almost exclusively about WWII with much action centering around a US Army base in China. This change of tone is considered the end of the strip's prime, although it remained highly acclaimed. Terry gained a new mentor in flying instructor Colonel "Flip" Corkin, a character based on the real-life Colonel Philip "Flip" Cochran of the 1st Air Commando Group. Comic relief was provided by fellow flyer Hotshot Charlie. Pat, Connie and Big Stoop still made occasional guest appearances as marine commandos, while the Dragon Lady and her pirates became Chinese guerrillas fighting the Japanese.

One of the highlights of this period was the October 17, 1943 Sunday page: Corkin gives the recently commissioned Terry a speech on his responsibilities as a fighter pilot, including the need to consider all those who have contributed to the development of his plane, respect his support crew, spare a thought for those killed in the fighting and respect military bureaucracy which, for better or for worse, has kept the American army going for over 150 years. In an unusual honor, the episode was read aloud in the U.S. Congress and added to the Congressional Record.

The intensely patriotic Caniff, who donated design and illustration work to the military, created a free variant of Terry and the Pirates for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. Originally starring the beautiful adventuress Burma, it was racier than the regular strip, and complaints caused Caniff to rename it Male Call to avoid confusion. Male Call was discontinued in 1946.