The art was designed and painted by George Schreiber. The poster depicts a fighter pilot hurrying to get in his plane. As the rushing pilot fastens his harness and keeps an eye on the skies beyond him, it is apparent that a battle will take place. The pilot is a veteran of these battles, as indicated by the six rising sun Japanese flags pasted below the cockpit, representing the pilot’s confirmed victories.
It was evident that the war effort needed guns, bombs, and tanks, but these posters were a more subtle form of warfare. They were designed to win the American people’s hearts and minds. Encouraging the American people to support the war effort was a wartime industry, almost as important as manufacturing bullets and planes. The government launched a propaganda campaign with clear strategies to rouse public support to accomplish this goal. The principal methods of this battle were posters, books, and films.
A principal piece of that effort was the development of War Bond posters. Bond posters encouraged every man, woman, and child to tolerate the personal sacrifice and adjustments for the national war agenda. The posters were used for financing the war effort, as they encouraged rationing, conservation, and sacrifice.
View an Original at Maine Military Museum and Learning Center
